Covanta Publishes Emissions Data for Two Lancaster County, Pa. Facilities

In an effort to provide transparency, Covanta along with the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) have made emissions data public for two waste-to-energy facilities.

Data for the Lancaster County Waste to Energy (WTE) Facility located in Bainbridge, Pa. and the Susquehanna Resource Management Complex (SRMC), located in Harrisburg, Pa. is now accessible on an ongoing basis on Covanta's website.

Robert Zorbaugh, LCSWMA CEO, commented that "waste-to-energy is a cornerstone of LCSWMA's sustainable solid waste management system and operates under stringent guidelines. We hope that the data will shine a light on the innermost workings of these facilities and foster a new understanding of the levels of safety and accountability employed at these sites on a daily basis."  

While emissions monitoring ensures compliance with requirements under the federal Clean Air Act as well as those dictated by the state of Pennsylvania, the release of this data is completely voluntary. There are no regulatory requirements that mandate either entity to release the information. 

"We're doing it because we believe it is important to be transparent to the communities we serve," David Sharp, director of area asset management in Covanta, indicated in a statement. 

Both waste-to-energy facilities, which are owned by LCSWMA, serve the residents of Lancaster and Dauphin counties. The authority contracted with Covanta for around-the-clock operations.

The Lancaster County WTE Facility, which open in 1991, processes up to 1,200 tons of waste per day in an effort to reduce landfill capacity.

Lancaster Waste to Energy (WTE) Facility Emissions, dated 7/26/21

The Susquehanna Resource Management Complex (SRMC) is the nation's first waste-to-energy (WTE) complex. The facility was originally built in 1972 and updated in 2007. The authority purchased SRMC in 2013 in an effort to regionalize the management of municipal solid waste, according to the LCSWMA website. SRMC process up to 800 tons of trash per day.

Both facilities process more than 669,000 tons of waste annually, according to Covanta.

View up-to-date data for the Lancaster WTE Facility here and the Susquehanna Resource Management Complex here.