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Following major chemical accidents in the 1980s, people fought for Congressional passage of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986. This included the creation of a Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) database managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since 1988, for hundreds of toxic chemicals, we’ve had data reported by chemical plants, oil refineries, and many…

The searchable database below allows users to determine which facilities their municipal solid waste (MSW) ends up in. Knowing this crucial information empowers residents to be informed about the impact of the trash they generate. For example, if you determine that your trash is going to an incinerator (many times an example of environmental racism),…

Florida has more trash incinerators and more trash burning capacity than any state in the nation. Since the 2021 closure of the Bay County incinerator, there are now 10 trash incinerators in Florida at nine sites. Incineration is the most expensive and polluting way to manage waste or to make energy. It’s dirtier than burning coal, and worse…

Trash incinerators (a.k.a. “waste to energy” facilities) in the United States are located in communities where people of color (especially Black residents) are disproportionately impacted. The largest and most polluting trash incinerators tend to be in communities of color, a major environmental justice issue. The trends show that race is more of a factor than…

2:20-cv-04330-HB Lloyd v. Covanta Plymouth Renewable Energy, LLCHARVEY BARTLE, III, presidingDate filed: 09/03/2020Date of last filing: 04/01/2021 Doc.No. Dates Description 1 Filed & Entered:  09/03/2020 Complaint (IFP or Government Plaintiff)   Filed & Entered:  09/09/2020 Summons Issued 2 Filed & Entered:  09/10/2020 APPLICATION for Admission Pro Hac Vice (Credit Card) 3 Filed & Entered:  09/10/2020…

Job Creation: Reuse and Recycling vs. Disposal Type of Operation Jobs per 10,000 tons ofdiscarded material per year Product Reuse Computer Reuse 296 Textile Reclamation 85 Misc. Durables Reuse 62 Wooden Pallet Repair 28 Recycling-based Manufacturers 25 Paper Mills 18 Glass Product Manufacturers 26 Plastic Product Manufacturers 93 Conventional Materials Recovery Facilities (recycling sorting centers)…

Camden for Clean Air formed in May 2020 to stop plans to keep the Covanta Camden trash incinerator alive by having it serve as the power source for a proposed microgrid. The proposed microgrid would keep the power going for the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA) sewage treatment plant in Camden so that it…

by Mike Ewall, Executive Director, Energy Justice Network [See related interview here.] If I were to write a documentary exposing the dismal state of recycling in the U.S., I’d be right to point out how much is not being recycled, how polluting recycling can be, and how inadequate it is to try to solve the…

Albany County, NY is home to many waste burning threats. Years ago, Albany City hosted the notorious ANSWERS trash incinerator, a controversial case of environmental racism. That incinerator has been closed since 1995. However, the county also hosts four sewage sludge incinerators (two still operating, and being phased out and replaced with anaerobic digesters), and…

TAKE ACTION!   to contact your local officials before they vote soon on where your trash goes! The Covanta Plymouth trash incinerator is Montgomery County’s #1 Air Polluter Montgomery County recently received an “F” grade from the American Lung Association for smog in their 2019 State of the Air report. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation…