Covanta Extends Partnership with OCRRA for Operations of the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Facility

MORRISTOWN, N.J., May 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Covanta CVA, a world leader in sustainable waste management and renewable energy today announced the start 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, NY.  The new agreement recently went into effect following the successful financing of bonds by OCRRA and extends a partnership that began in the early 1990s for an additional 20 years.

"Covanta is very pleased to continue our long and cooperative partnership with Onondaga County and OCRRA," said 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."

Since its construction in the mid-1990s, the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Facility has been a critical component of the county's integrated waste management system. The county has built a world-class system that prioritizes recycling and relies on energy recovery for material that remains. Electricity and metal recycling revenues from the Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility help fund robust recycling programs and have enabled the county to achieve one of the highest recycling rates in the state, close to double the national average.

"OCRRA is pleased that our recent contract extension with Covanta has commenced," said 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.

OCRRA's integrated system and Covanta Onondaga have won numerous awards over the years, including: the 2014 award from the National Recycling Coalition for Outstanding Recycling Community or Government Program, the Gold Excellence Award from the Solid Waste Association of North America and Top Plant honors from Power Magazine. The EfW facility is also recognized as a Star worksite in the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). VPP Star status is the highest honor given to worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems.

About Covanta

Covanta is a world leader in providing sustainable waste and energy solutions. The Company's 45 Energy-from-Waste facilities provide communities and businesses around the world with environmentally sound solid waste disposal by using waste to generate clean, renewable energy. Annually, Covanta's modern Energy-from-Waste facilities safely and securely convert approximately 20 million tons of waste into clean, renewable electricity to power one million homes and recycle approximately 500,000 tons of metal. Energy-from-Waste facilities reduce greenhouse gases, complement recycling and are a critical component to sustainable solid waste management. For more information, visit www.covanta.com.

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SOURCE Covanta