Bristol factory seeks permission to incinerate biomedical waste

BRISTOL, Conn. (WTNH) — Bristol residents and environmentalists are concerned about what could be in the air as a plant seeks state permits to burn biomedical waste.

Covanta, now known as Reworld, is located near Lake Compounce.

Bristol resident and mother of two Jodie Maro says she is worried.

“It’s what’s in the trash, what you can’t see when they burn it, that bothers me,” Maro said. “It really scares me.”

If approved, the facility would be able to incinerate up to 57 tons of medical waste per day. It would be the only medical waste incinerator in the Northeast, and one of the largest in the country.

“Most places don’t use incineration for medical waste anymore,” said Mike Ewall, executive director of the Energy Justice Network. “There were over 6,200 medical waste incinerators in the country in 1988. Now there are less than 30. Medicine hasn’t stopped. It’s just that they’ve started using non-incineration, safer alternatives.”

Maro and other members of the Bristol Residents for Clean Air group are calling on leaders to protect the air.

“If we bring in medical waste, we will burn it. Someone should supervise that,” Maro said.

Bristol Mayor Jeff Caggiano said he has no concerns about the proposal.

“This is heavily regulated by the state; and Covanta itself, now Reworld, will be monitoring the air quality coming out of the stack,” Caggiano said. “If they have any abnormalities, they have to stop doing it.”

In a statement to News 8, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said it could not comment because the matter is ongoing. A public hearing has been requested and a conference to outline procedures for doing so is scheduled for Aug. 7.

“The Department looks forward to hearing the perspectives of all interested stakeholders as part of the permit application process and the technical review of all information submitted as part of the decision-making process,” the statement said.

In a written statement to News 8, ReWorld said the Bristol location has been working with DEEP on obtaining permits since 2021.

“We are not expanding the facility and there will be no changes to air emissions standards,” the statement reads in part. “We are requesting an amendment to the facility’s current permit to include biomedical waste processing as defined by state regulations, along with the permitted special waste we process today.”

The regulations limit special waste to 8% of daily processing, which equates to processing 57 tons and receiving 114 tons. The permit allows non-hazardous waste such as IV bags, tubes and bedding to be incinerated. Hazardous waste, anatomical waste, fetuses and cadavers are processed.

“There are no biomedical waste incinerators in the Northeastern United States and Reworld Bristol is a safe, reliable and economical alternative for Connecticut and regional medical waste generators that have few disposal options,” the statement said. “Waste-to-Energy technology provides a safe and efficient solution for biomedical waste disposal.”