If we said that D.C. is going to start dumping the city’s trash in Virginia, some of you might get upset. Well, that’s exactly what the District is going to do. But a Virginia power plant is happy to welcome the trash.
Covanta Energy is a private contractor that turns trash into energy, and its facility in Lorton needs more of your waste. Turns out the economic downturn has meant a 15 percent decline in collections of trash and recycling in Fairfax County.
Usually the energy facility can handle about 1.2 million tons of trash a year, but as of last year they were only pushing through about 1 million tons. This is where the District comes in.
D.C. produces about 200,000 tons of trash a year. That’s just enough trash to bring the plant back up to capacity.
District officials like the deal. They get rid of the city’s trash and they don’t have to haul it to a private landfill outside of Richmond. Covanta Energy and Fairfax County are like pigs in mud. The extra boost in trash should help them bring in about $2.2 million.
