A substantial portion of Philadelphia’s trash gets hauled to Chester and incinerated at a waste-to-energy facility.
But the practice could soon end under a newly proposed ordinance that would bar the city from burning its waste or recyclables.
Currently, the city sends more than one-third of its trash to the Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility owned by Reworld, formerly Covanta.
Activists in Chester and elsewhere have long protested the Reworld facility for what the company calls “thermomechanical treatment” — but others call incineration or waste-to-energy.
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, chair of Council’s environmental committee, introduced the Stop Trashing Our Air Act, saying that it would stop the city from contracting with companies that incinerate solid waste or recyclables. No date has been set for a vote for final approval.
Gauthier said in a statement that she crafted the legislation, “to end the City of Philadelphia’s role in perpetuating environmental racism through trash incineration.” She said 37% of the city’s trash gets burned.
Zulene Mayfield, an environmental activist who has led a fight to shut down the Reworld facility for decades, lauded the ordinance.
“Everybody deserves air that is clean enough to sustain life,” Mayfield said in a statement. “But for over 30 years, the nation’s largest incinerator has wreaked havoc on our community. No one has the right to take away our children’s breath.”
» READ MORE: For 30 years, she has fought a waste-to-energy plant in Chester City: ‘We don’t have a choice’
Gauthier’s office said that nearly one-third of all material burned at Reworld comes from Philadelphia. Reworld, her office said, burns 3,500 tons of trash and industrial waste daily. In addition, more than 2,400 tons of scrap tires that are “recycled” in Philadelphia also get incinerated in Chester annually.
Waste to Energy
Reworld sent The Inquirer a statement saying that the facility provides Philadelphia and the region “with a sustainable alternative to landfilling by converting waste into renewable energy.” It has a contract with the city though June 30, 2026.
The statement said the facility also recovers valuable metals that would be lost in a landfill. The metals are recycled, lessening the impact of mining and refining of new material.
“Our Chester facility operates under continuous emissions monitoring and performs well below federal and state limits, with 99.9% of stack output being water vapor, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide,” the statement said. “Every ton of waste we process helps avoid methane emissions from landfills, a greenhouse gas more than 80 times more potent than CO₂.”
The company said it also provides well-paying local jobs and supports community organizations. The electricity generated by burning waste is enough to continuously power 70,000 homes.“
According to the city’s disposal plan, waste is taken to up to 11 facilities, including various landfills and the Reworld facility.
The majority of city waste and recycling is hauled away and disposed by Waste Management, which owns a number of landfills, including its massive complex in Fairless Hills.
It is not clear from the legislation where the currently burned trash would go.
‘Dumping ground’
Mayfield and others have fought Reworld for years, saying the plant not only pollutes, but blights the neighborhood by its presence.
The Philadelphia Council legislation has the support of Chester Mayor Stefan Roots. Philadelphia Council members have visited Chester to hear about the impact of burning trash there.
“The presence of the nation’s largest trash incinerator on the city of Chester’s waterfront is a longstanding issue that requires strong partnership to solve,” Roots said. “I urge Philadelphia City Council to be good neighbors, pass this bill without delay, and to join us in advancing regional solutions that put environmental justice and public health first.”
Gauthier said an assessment conducted for Delaware County found that burning trash and landfilling the toxic ash it generates is 2.3 times more harmful to the environment and human health than sending unburned trash right to a landfill.
Gauthier’s statement on the legislation included support from Chester resident Carol Fireng.
“Why is it that when there is a need to dispose of waste, Chester always becomes the dumping ground for the county and other states?” Fireng said.