Jeff Brown drew criticism for his debate comments about trash. What is Philly’s role in Chester’s controversial incinerator?

Mayoral candidate Jeff Brown put Chester front and center at a televised debate Tuesday night, with comments he made about sending Philadelphia’s trash to a controversial incinerator in the Delaware County city.

Asked whether he’d maintain or alter Philadelphia’s current waste management contract with the Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility in Chester in light of complaints of environmental racism, Brown gave a response that included the comment: “The trash has to go somewhere.”

His answer drew immediate rebukes from his opponents in the Democratic primary.

“That’s not really an appropriate answer,” said Rebecca Rhynhart.

“That response is the same way you treat the Black and brown community,” said Cherelle Parker.

Helen Gym used fewer words: “It’s a disgrace,” she said.

Philadelphia sends more than 400,000 tons of garbage to the Covanta-owned trash incinerator annually. And City Council voted in 2019 to renew Philadelphia’s contract with the facility for a four-year period.

Chester, a city of about 39,000 people that sits along the Delaware River, is 72% Black, according to U.S. Census data.

Brown’s comments even drew ire from Covanta itself. “[T]he statement made by Mr. Brown was disappointing,” said Covanta spokesperson Nicolle Robles. “He clearly does not know what we do at Covanta and has no idea about the amazing people in Chester.”

Chester environmental activist Zulene Mayfield has been on the frontlines of the fight against the trash incinerator in her community since its first iteration opened in 1991.

“When he said Chester, I heard another word,” Mayfield said of Brown’s comments. “I heard in my spirit racial undertones of a disparaging word. I know he didn’t say that but that’s the way that it was received.”

Here’s a look at what the Chester-based Covanta facility is and the role Philadelphia plays in its day-to-day operations.

Covanta is one of the nation’s most prominent trash incinerator companies, operating 37 of what it calls waste-to-energy facilities across the country.

Locally, its largest plant is in Chester, and it also operates facilities in Camden and Conshohocken.

Covanta’s Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility in Chester is the largest trash incinerator in America, according to data from the Energy Justice Network. A 2019 study from the New School found Covanta’s Chester plant was one of the most significant polluters of its kind in the country. It incinerates around 3,500 tons of trash a day, with a capacity of up to 5,700 tons daily.

The plant gets trash from Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York City, and Ocean City, Md.

The New School study also found that Covanta’s Camden plant was in the top 12 PM 2.5 emitters.

The plant emits particulate matter at the size of 2.5 micrometers, which environmental and health advocates consider dangerous because of its ability to impact the respiratory system.

Robles acknowledged the plant’s emissions, but said the facility accounts for about 3% of the total pollution in Delaware County. The facility is responsible for 11% of the county’s nitrogen oxide pollution.

“Despite being called the ‘largest polluter’ in the area, the Covanta facility in Chester is a relatively small source of most pollutants,” said Robles.

The plant was opened in 1991 by the Westinghouse Corp.

Covanta began operating the plant in 2005 and purchased it from GE Energy Financial Services for $94 million in 2012.

Philadelphia produces about 1.4 million tons of trash a year. Philadelphia sent nearly 404,000 tons of waste there by municipal or private haulers in 2018, according to the city’s waste management plan.

That’s about 1,100 tons of trash coming from Philadelphia to Chester each day.

The city in 2019 renewed its contract with Covanta for four years with an option for three one-year extensions, according to the legislation approved by City Council.

Chester activist Mayfield said she and her neighbors and allies plan to come to Philadelphia City Hall to lobby against the next renewal of the Covanta contract.

Philadelphia sends its trash to a combination of incinerators and landfills. Sites include Waste Management transfer stations and landfills in Northeast and Southwest Philly.

Pollution released by Covanta’s Chester plant is known to contribute to several health conditions including heart disease, lung disease, and asthma. A study out of Harvard also showed that exposure to the pollution increased the risk of death from COVID-19.

In Chester, more than 38% of children suffer from asthma. The national childhood asthma rate is around 8%, in contrast. In Philadelphia, which has high pediatric asthma rates, 21% of children suffer from the respiratory condition.

“That’s what this has done to my community,” said Mayfield. “People don’t sit on their porches. It has taken away our sense of community.”

Robles, the Covanta spokesperson, said the facility monitors its emissions “every second of the day,” and conducts annual testing. She said the facility operates below federal regulatory standards for emissions.

The study from the New School found that eight out of ten trash incinerators are located in low-income neighborhoods or neighborhoods of color. Environmental racism is to blame, said Mayfield.

“Let’s do some things that’ll save ourselves and save our children,” said Mayfield. “No corporation should have the ability to take away our God-given right to breathe, and right now, we can’t breathe.”