Company says the new 20-year agreement ensures the continuation of Onondaga County’s sustainable waste management system.
The waste management firm
Covanta, headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, has announced the signing of a new operating agreement with the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) for the operations and maintenance of the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Facility in Jamesville, New York, for an additional 20 years.
The agreement went into effect following the successful financing of bonds by OCRRA and extends an already existing partnership between the two parties.
“Covanta is very pleased to continue our long and cooperative partnership with Onondaga County and OCRRA,” says Joey Neuhoff, Covanta vice president of client business management. “The county and agency have established a world-class sustainable waste management system that is a true model to be emulated by communities in North America. We are proud of our contributions to provide safe, reliable and sustainable waste disposal and a source of clean energy, and look forward to serving the community for another 20 years.”
The facility was built in the mid-1990s and has allowed the county to prioritize recycling efforts while relying on energy recovery for the remaining material. Covanta says electricity and metal recycling revenue from the energy-from-waste (EfW) facility help fund recycling programs and have enabled the county to achieve a recycling rate that is twice the national average.
“OCRRA is pleased that our recent contract extension with Covanta has commenced,” says Mark Donnelly, OCRRA executive director. “We look forward to continued environmental collaboration with Covanta that benefits our community’s solid waste and recycling programs.”
The new agreement calls for investments and upgrades to systems at the EfW facility to ensure continued safe, reliable and efficient waste processing and energy production for many years to come, Covanta says.