Detroit Considers Fate of its Waste-to-Energy Plant

Date: May 25, 2008

Source: News Room

With its contract set to expire, the city of Detroit must decide whether to continue using a waste-to-energy plant or switch to some combination of increased recycling or use of landfill disposal. The project is owned by the quasi-governmental Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority (GDRRA) and operated by Michigan Waste Energy, a division of Covanta Energy. It handles about two-thirds of the 550,000 tons of waste generated each year. Critics that include environmentalists and some citizen groups argue that the plant is expensive and hinders recycling efforts. Proponents argue that ever higher transportation costs make the plant more compelling than landfills. They also argue that further gains in recycling are hampered not by use of the plant, but by the increased expense of spreading service to more remote areas.

Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority:
www.ci.detroit.mi.us/Departments/GreaterDetroitResourceRecoveryAuthority/tabid/110/Default.aspx.

Covanta Michigan Waste Energy:
www.covantaholding.com/site/locations/covanta-michigan.html.

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