Dive Brief:

• A Marion County, IN, judge ruled in favor of the city of Indianapolis regarding a $45 million recycling center agreement with waste and energy firm Covanta.
• The lawsuit was filed by two paper companies and a citizen who were against the city’s contract with Covanta to construct a material recovery facility (MRF) in Indianapolis. 
• The judge said the lawsuit lacked legal standing to lay the complaint. 

Dive Insight:

Graphic Packaging International, Rock-Tenn Converting Company, and citizen Cathy Weinmann brought the suit to court. The opposition wanted to prevent the city from finalizing the recycling contract with Covanta that will be in effect until 2028. The agreement states that the city’s municipal waste will end up at an incinerator owned by Covanta. 

The plaintiffs had concerns that the paper processed at the MRF would be contaminated, prompting the judge to rule that the reasoning is not a sufficient basis to file a lawsuit. The judge also found that the city did not violate the state Waste Disposal Statute by failing to hold a public bidding process because the agreement was an amendment to an existing contract.