Title
Authorizing hearings in the Committee on the Environment to evaluate the environmental justice impacts of the City's waste management practices and potential alternatives to the City's contract with Covanta Delaware Valley LP.
Body
WHEREAS, On December 20, 2016, Mayor Kenney signed Executive Order No. 13-16, creating the Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet and stating Philadelphia's intention to become a Zero Waste City; and
WHEREAS, On March 15, 2023, Mayor Kenney signed Executive Order No. 2-23. The Order gives the Environmental Justice Advisory Commission the ability to review existing and proposed government programs, policies, activities, and processes to identify environmental justice concerns and propose alternative solutions, clearly demonstrating the City's desire to engage in environmentally just practices throughout its operations; and
WHEREAS, The trash incinerator industry disproportionately impacts people of color, especially Black people, and low-income people within our region. Of people living within one mile of Pennsylvania's incinerators, 65% are people of color and their median household income averages $46,000; and
WHEREAS, Covanta Delaware Valley, located in Chester, PA, is the nation's largest incinerator, and is the primary polluter in the City of Chester. Chester is recognized as an Environmental Justice area by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; and
WHEREAS, The City's current contract with Covanta Delaware Valley also includes a "Guaranteed Annual Quantity" clause, meaning the City will be penalized if we provide under a certain tonnage of waste per year. This is directly in conflict with the City's Zero Waste goal; and
WHEREAS, Other municipalities are moving ahead of Philadelphia when it comes to addressing Zero Waste. Washington, DC created an Office of Waste Diversion in 2014 and passed a Zero Waste Omnibus Bill in 2020 to help the District meet ...
Click here for full text