Why was the facility built?
The Essex County Resource Recovery Facility was opened in 1990 to serve Essex County with sustainable waste disposal. The facility was sited by Essex County and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) and originally operated by another company until Reworld™ acquired the facility in 2005. Today under operation by Reworld™, the facility sustainably processes up to 985,500 tons of waste on an annual basis. To learn more, check out the full Facility Factsheet here.
What happens to the waste processed at the facility?
Reworld™ Essex is a thermomechanical treatment facility (TTF), where waste is combusted to both minimize the volume of waste, and create steam to generate electricity through a process called 'Waste-to-Energy' (WTE). The facility generates enough electricity to power roughly 46,000 homes annually and recycles enough metal to build nearly 21,000 cars. To learn more about TTFs and WTE, go here.
Where does waste processed at the facility come from?
The facility primarily serves the solid waste disposal needs of Essex County, including Newark. The remaining processing capacity of the facility is used to provide a sustainable waste management alternative to landfills for communities in New York City and the surrounding region.
What is emitted from the stack?
Over 99.9% of what is emitted from the stack consists of normal components of air, including nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor. See below for more details.
The remaining 0.024% of what is emitted from the stack includes nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among several other substances considered pollutants. For these and other constituents, Reworld™ Essex performs much better than federal and regional standards. To learn more about our environmental performance, as well as emissions from other sources within Camden County, check out the full Facility Fact Sheet here.
How do we know that the facility runs the same all year long?
A combination of continuous emissions monitoring and annual stack testing are important tools used to determine the facility’s compliance with the emission limits set forth in its operating permit, which is established in accordance with the Clean Air Act and state regulatory requirements.
The facility’s operating permit sets the limits on:
- the amount of waste processed,
- the emissions that are allowed, and
- how the air pollution control system is operated.
The stack test sets additional limits on how we operate. Certain operating parameters, like waste throughput and air pollution control operation, become requirements until our next stack test.
In addition, there are monitors that operate continuously, 24 hours a day 7 days a week for 365 days a year to check that the combustion units are operating well, and the air pollution control systems are functioning properly.
The continuous emissions monitoring equipment at the Essex thermomechanical treatment facility monitors for opacity (a measure of particulate matter) and gaseous compounds such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides. The facility’s operators also continuously measure the amount of steam produced, as well as ensure the consistent high temperature (approximately 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit) required for full combustion is achieved by monitoring and maintaining proper oxygen and carbon monoxide levels.
The key to low emissions is good combustion. If carbon monoxide goes up, oxygen levels drop, temperature drops, or steam levels drop - the control room operator knows to adjust fuel rates or the air being fed to the combustion. If the monitor shows alerts for sulfur compounds, nitrogen compounds, or opacity, the facility staff checks and adjusts the air pollution control systems.
On rare occasions the facility may have a period of noncompliance related to carbon monoxide (CO). This is usually due to do a disruption in the combustion process, sometimes due to wet waste, and is corrected very quickly. Importantly, this serves as a warning signal for operators to make adjustments to ensure robust combustion.
Monitoring data is shared with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the facility’s air permit stipulates compliance periods of 6 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, 4 hours and daily averages. Every year there are hundreds of thousands of compliance periods the facility must comply with. If levels go beyond certain limits for a specified duration, they must be reported to the DEP. We encourage anyone interested in the environmental performance of Reworld™ Essex to check out live continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) data, available through the facility webpage.
How does the facility control emissions?
In recent years the Newark facility has been upgraded with several improvements to emissions controls, despite already operating well below emissions standards. Total investments of over $100 million have included installing a new Baghouse, as well as a Low-NOx system, two examples of meaningful investments made by Reworld™ toward dramatically reduced emissions despite achieving compliance with our permits. Stack emissions are tested annually, and are also monitored constantly using continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS). See below a comparison of the facility's 2022 environmental performance to federally regulated standards.
Investments made at Reworld™ Essex are part of our commitment to install more emission control technology at our facilities located in environmental justice (EJ) communities. Read more about our efforts in our sustainability report.
Is thermomechanical treatment safe for the community?
Research has produced study after study indicating modern thermomechanical treatment facilities employing a Waste-to-Energy process do not pose a significant health risk of any kind for those living in direct proximity. To minimize any environmental impact, Reworld™ operates the Essex facility up to 99% below its federally regulated standards for emissions. We transparently report on the facility’s emissions performance as part of our corporate sustainability reporting.
While further improvements in overall air quality need to be the goal, particularly in communities that have historically borne a disproportionate burden, it is important to note that air quality has been significantly improving in Newark, not getting worse. Overall, according to EPA data found using this tool, concentrations of major pollutants often linked to various health issues have been continuously reduced over time in Essex County. In 2022, concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), one of the major compounds included under ‘NOx emissions’, were on average lower in Essex County than in nearby Bergen. As well, sulfur dioxide concentrations in Essex County were about half the overall state average as of 2022.
Concentrations of regulated criteria air pollutants including nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and ozone (O3) have been reduced up to 99% in Essex County over the last 20 years. Notably, the Reworld™ facility in Camden is actually a relatively small source of these and other pollutants, representing 9% of total NOx emissions within the county as of 2022. See below for more on how our emissions compare to other sources in the county.
Facilities like Reworld™ Essex have drawn criticism focusing on a few specific pollutants, namely dioxins and mercury. For dioxins, the facility performs 99% better than permitted levels (or in other words, 99% below permitted levels). According to peer-reviewed scientific research, all of the waste-to-energy facilities in the United States represent less than a tenth of one percent of total sources of dioxin. Dioxin emissions in the U.S. today are predominately from uncontrolled combustion, with fires at landfills representing the largest sources.
According to a recently published study WTE facilities are a minor source of mercury in the U.S. as well, representing just 0.8% of man‐made sources, roughly half that emitted from landfills. U.S. and global scales of comparison are relevant to mercury, as mercury is a global pollutant that can travel thousands of miles before it is deposited and from there potentially enter the food chain. Globally, waste combustion represents just 0.7% of total human-caused mercury emissions.
What was the ‘Purple Plume’?
On several occasions in 2019 and 2020, purple-pink gas was emitted from the stack at Reworld™ Essex. This was caused by iodinated waste entering the boiler at the facility and being combusted. Independent review of the incidents revealed the concentration of iodine in the waste was roughly 95% less than the threshold beyond which the gas could be considered a potential respiratory irritant.
Reworld™ takes these occurrences extremely seriously and worked diligently to successfully identify the source of the purple plume in terms of waste entering the facility, as well as developing a procedure to minimize potential for future incidents. Complementary to these efforts has been a renewed effort to establish lines of communications with the community for facilitating timely distribution of information regarding ongoing events at the facility.
What about ash, is it toxic?
Years of testing ash from every facility in the country that employs Waste-to-Energy technology, including Reworld™ Essex, has proven that ash is non-hazardous and safe for reuse. Ash generated from combusting waste is tested routinely for toxicity, using the US EPA’s toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). In practice, this ash is shown to be more stable and resistant to leaching in a landfill, than normal municipal solid waste (MSW). Residual ash is routinely reused as daily cover at landfills across the country. It exhibits concrete-like properties causing it to harden once it is placed and compacted in a landfill. The ash can also be used in a variety of applications such as roadways and construction as European Union countries have done.
How does this technology reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
According to both the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Commission, the most sustainable option for waste management is to prevent waste from being generated, followed by reuse, recycling, and then energy recovery via waste-to-energy at thermomechanical treatment facilities (TTFs). As a result, some of the most sustainable countries in the world rely heavily on TTFs to process their waste. However, most of the waste generated in the US is still disposed of in landfills, even though no state or other jurisdiction defines landfilling as preferred to waste-to-energy through any policy, regulation, or law.
Landfills are unsustainable for several reasons, the most prominent being greenhouse gas emissions. Landfills emit methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas that directly contributes to climate change. Eliminating one ton of methane emissions is equivalent to eliminating about 84 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. By diverting waste from landfills, thermomechanical treatment significantly reduces methane emissions. Learn more about the benefits of TTFs here.
Don't your operations take away from recycling?
Reworld™ fully supports policies to enact better waste reduction, reuse and recycling throughout Essex County. Our thermomechanical facilities are fully compatible with, and in fact complementary to, improved recycling. Many of our communities have a higher recycling rate than the national average — with some reaching over 50%. A growing part of our work is recovering more metals, both ferrous and non-ferrous, from the ash left over following combustion. Currently, Reworld™ Essex recycles enough metal every year to build nearly 21,000 cars.
How does the facility benefit the community?
Besides contributing to improved environmental security for future generations, the facility creates over 70 full-time jobs, 17 of which are held by local residents living within 5 miles of the facility. We also continuously provide economic stimulus to Newark through procurement of goods and services.
The facility in Newark also contributes meaningfully via involvement with several local organizations and institutions. A notable example is St. Benedict's Prep, where Covanta has partnered with school faculty to create environmental science and sustainability curriculum for students. This is just one example of our work to provide social and economic benefit to the community, in addition to inherent environmental benefits provided by WTE. To read more of our work in the community and to see some of the organizations we work with in Newark, check out our Community Blog here.
Why is the facility in Newark? How does Reworld™ support environmental justice?
The Reworld™ Essex facility was sited by local government and previous owners decades ago. Facilities like this one were sited due to proximity to industrial centers, which typically translate to large waste generation points, accessibility for waste haulers, availability of water sources for operations, and proximity to a technical workforce.
These facts do not necessarily make the locations of these facilities just, which is why through partnerships with local leaders, Reworld™ established the Community Outreach and Environmental Justice Policy in 2011. The policy was ground-breaking in its efforts to create a pact with our neighbors in every community where we operate, that we recognize our duty and accountability to perform our operations safely and responsibly. The policy documented our acknowledgement that as a corporate citizen, we have a responsibility to the individuals who live alongside us, to address their concerns and create a dialogue of ongoing understanding and transparency.
Through this policy, we have not only formally established our position on the importance of local communities in making decisions that impact their environment but are also thereby committed to reducing emissions from Reworld™ Essex. In recent times, we have been vehement supporters of the new environmental justice law in New Jersey, and reinvested $100 million to add a baghouse and other improvements to further reduce environmental impacts of the Newark facility. That commitment also requires transparency about our operations, which is why we have worked to make our continuous emissions monitoring data for the Essex facility available for anyone to view 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www.reworldwaste.com/essex. This data is the same information monitored by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and required by the facility’s air permit to ensure its adherence to the state’s stringent environmental regulations. It is also used by operators onsite at the facility to track emissions, anticipate potential issues and resolve them to ensure compliance.