Monday, August 11, 2014

Covanta taking case to the people of Chester

Covanta has recently purchased full page ads in the Daily Times to make their case to the people of Chester that they are trying to bring ‘A more modern and efficient way to receive waste’ to their electric generation plant in Chester. 

Before the new ramps on the Barry Bridge were constructed, there was a daily parade of brightly lit idling trucks lined up for blocks down 2nd street waiting to offload at Covanta in the pre dawn hours. It reminded me of the staging area for floats at the Macy’s Day Parade in NYC. 

No only did those trucks emit plumes of exhaust in the air, they often leaked their contents like a trash bag with a pin hole.

Covanta’s latest ad displays the new closed container they want to transport trash with. Just looking at the photos convinces me that it's a good idea. But, in order to receive the containers, they need a new building which the planning commission refuse to approve. It’s up to city council now.

In Covanta’s defense, I believe they do deserve an explanation why the planning commission rejected their proposal. But, I’m still confused with the language Covanta uses regarding the amount of waste they plan to bring to Chester.

Sometimes they say they are not going to receive more waste. Other times they say that they are not going to burn more than the law allows, and since they are not burning at full capacity now one could assume that they will bring more waste while staying within the limits set by the EPA.

One thing is for sure, like it or not, Covanta is here to stay. If they can receive all their trash in these closed containers, that should be the goal. Installing the most robust exhaust filtering systems should be the other goal. Those systems are extremely costly, and if required, that could be the deciding factor on whether they stay or go (ask Sunoco refinery in Marcus Hook about exhaust filter-scrubbers - oh, they couldn’t afford it and closed shop).


1 comment:

  1. Closed containers or not they will still increase the amount of yeah they are burning in our city and increase the pollution in our city...they are about to bring in NYC's trash as well....

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