FAIRFIELD, N.J., April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Covanta Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Covanta Holding Corporation and a world leader in the development and operation of large scale Energy-from-Waste and other renewable energy projects, today announced it is supporting legislation to promote passage of a national bottle bill.
According to the Container Recycling Institute, states with bottle recycling legislation recover more than 50-80% of containers as compared to a national average of 34%.
"Covanta Energy is working to support passage of national bottle bill legislation that would provide the necessary framework to increase container recycling across the country. This legislation would create a more sustainable solution than the current patchwork, state-by-state legislative approach while reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions," said Paul Gilman, Covanta's Chief Sustainability Officer. "Energy-from-Waste client communities typically enjoy a higher recycling rate than the national average because they have adopted integrated waste management solutions that include curbside recycling and recovering energy from what remains. As written, the bill would provide all consumers, particularly those without curbside collection, access to convenient beverage container recycling programs."
Gilman added that increasing the diversion rate of beverage containers will also allow Covanta to improve its Energy-from-Waste facilities' capacity to process non-recyclable waste.
"We are delighted to have Covanta join CRI in its mission to improve the quantity and quality of container recycling. Covanta is unique in that it is the first major company outside of the container industry to grasp the benefits of container deposit legislation," said Tex Corley, CRI Chairman.
Covanta Energy supports this effort as part of its Clean World Initiative, a program dedicated to improving the company's overall environmental performance. Gilman said Covanta welcomed the re-introduction of the Bottle Recycling Climate Protection Act, which was first introduced in November 2007 by Senator Edward Markey, and looks forward to working with members of Congress and CRI as they consider legislation on this issue.
About Covanta
Covanta Energy is a subsidiary of Covanta Holding Corporation, an internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects and a recipient of the Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Covanta's 38 Energy-from-Waste facilities provide communities with an environmentally sound solution to their solid waste disposal needs by using that municipal solid waste to generate clean, renewable energy. Annually, Covanta's modern Energy-from-Waste facilities safely and securely convert approximately 16 million tons of waste into more than 8 million megawatt hours of clean renewable electricity and create 10 billion pounds of steam that are sold to a variety of industries. For more information, visit http://www.covantaholding.com/.
Covanta Energy
CONTACT: Vera Carley, Covanta Energy, +1-973-882-2439
Web Site: http://www.covantaholding.com/
