Dive Brief:

• Covanta has announced a new deal with the Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resource Recovery Authority (SCRRRA) to continue running its Southeastern Connecticut Resource Recovery Facility (SECONN) waste-to-energy facility in the town of Preston.
• The facility processes up to 689 tons of material per day from 12 municipalities to create more than 18 MW of electricity. An estimated 9,000 tons of metal are also recovered at the facility each year.
• This new four-year agreement between Covanta and SCRRA will run until December 2020.

Dive Insight:

Covanta has been operating this facility since 1991 and has received multiple accolades, including a reported 15-year streak with no injuries. The company also operates one other plant in the state, along with a transfer station. They recently considered closing the transfer station due to reduced volumes, but have since decided to keep it open until 2020 per a current contract with five municipalities.

Connecticut has minimal landfill activity and manages the vast majority of its refuse through WTE facilities. The state has set a goal of 60% diversion by 2024, which it hopes to achieve through organic waste diversion regulations and other recycling programs. Though some in the industry have questioned how this will work and how much it will cost.

While Connecticut sorts through these challenges, Covanta will continue to play a large role in the state's waste management infrastructure in the coming years. This announcement comes shortly after a positive earnings report for the company that sets them up well heading into 2017.