Essex

Reducing Landfill Waste

Located in Newark, New Jersey, the Essex County Resource Recovery Facility is an award winning Waste-to-Energy Facility that serves 22 municipalities in Essex County and the surrounding region with reliable and sustainable waste management.

In addition to keeping waste out of landfills, we’re committed to ensuring safe operations and minimizing environmental impacts. We have been consistently recognized for exceptional operations, including OSHA’s stringent Voluntary Protection Program Star certification.

We are also committed to Environmental Justice and continuous improvement. Please visit this page to learn more about our work to reduce emissions and positively impact the communities we serve.

For more information on the facility, click the button below for more answers to frequently asked questions.

To view our Title V Permit renewal application and Solid Waste Facility Operating Permit renewal application, click the buttons below.

Fast Stats: Annual Performance

Every year, our facility processes up to 950,000 tons of waste that would otherwise have ended up in landfills.

Less waste in landfills reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 731,000 metric tons of CO₂. That’s like taking 157,000 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.

We use waste to produce 66 megawatts of electricity 24/7 - enough to power 44,000 homes for a year.

We also recover 24,00 tons of metal for recycling annually - enough to build 18,000 cars.

Superior Environmental Performance

We care about our communities and operate well below emissions limits. Over 99.9 percent of what comes out of our plant’s stack is what you’d typically find in air - water vapor, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. The remaining constituents are well below federal and state standards.

The following data is presented in units required by the facility's permit as averaged emissions.

Permit Limits are derived from USEPA standards for Large Municipal Waste Combustors (40 CFR 60, Subparts A, Cb and Eb).
CO values are the maximum 4-hour block average for that day.
SO2 and NOx values are the daily (24-hour) block averages for that day.
Opacity values are the maximum 6-minute average for that day.
All emission values reported in units consistent with the permit. CO, SO2 and NOx reported as parts per million, dry gas basis at 7% O2 (ppmdv7), Opacity as %, Removal Efficiency as %.
SO2 compliance is based on concentration (ppm) or removal efficiency (% reduction between inlet and outlet emissions).
The dash symbol (-) indicates that a unit is off-line, has insufficient data for a compliance period or is in an exempted period.

* Results are provided for informational purposes only. Data is posted 24 hours after completion of each day to allow for quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) review.

For more information on facility performance click here.

To view our operating permits, compliance history, and submissions to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, please click here.

Process in Action

Waste-to-Energy: How Does It Work?

Waste-to-Energy takes non-hazardous waste - otherwise destined for landfill - and combusts it to generate steam for electricity generation. Ash is processed to recover metal for recycling while all gases are collected, filtered and cleaned before being released safely into the atmosphere.

Learn More

Covanta