I applaud Sullivan County officials for exploring options for dealing with our trash (“Sullivan County considers waste-to-energy system,” River Reporter, July 11-17). However, I am concerned that they may have fallen hook, line and sinker for a potential vendor’s claims about “clean burning of trash” and meeting “stringent environmental standards.” 

While Reworld, née Covanta, might implement advanced air pollution control equipment at its facilities, such devices cannot remove 100 percent of toxic pollutants. Remaining contaminants are concentrated in the “fly ash” trapped by smokestack scrubbers. But the more pollutants an air pollution control system removes, the more toxic the fly ash is. 

Then there is the large amount of solid residue that collects at the bottom of the incinerator, which can also be toxic. This “bottom ash” takes up 40 to 50 percent of the space that compacted waste would. 

Both types of ash need to be landfilled, and if it is found to contain toxic compounds, must go to a more expensive landfill designed to handle hazardous waste. Thank you, River Reporter, for pointing out that Covanta has a track record for misrepresenting how hazardous their ash is. No wonder they’re rebranding themselves as Reworld. 

Meanwhile, I urge officials to explore zero-waste options for managing the county’s waste. Granted, it’s not an off-the-shelf solution. But we are all already exposed to so many toxic chemicals in our daily lives. We don’t need to make matters even worse by inviting a polluting facility into our midst.

Rebekah Creshkoff
Callicoon, NY