[Archived] The City of Alexandria and Arlington County Approve Lease Extension for Waste-to-Energy Facility

For Immediate Release: December 18, 2013 

The City Council of Alexandria and Arlington County Board recently agreed to extend the Covanta Waste-to-Energy lease agreement through 2038 for the disposal of municipal trash. The two jurisdictions jointly lease this solid waste disposal facility, located at 5301 Eisenhower Avenue, to Covanta, Inc.

Waste-to-energy is the most environmentally sustainable means of waste disposal following reduction, reuse, and recycling. The Covanta Waste-to Energy facility is capable of handling 975 tons of waste each day, which produces 21 megawatts of energy that powers approximately 20,000 homes. The facility meets and exceeds all environmental requirements. 

Under the new agreement, in Fiscal Year 2014 the  rate per ton to dispose of waste at Covanta, or tipping fee, will remain at the current rate of $43.16 per ton and continue at that rate through 2024. In 2025 through 2038 the tipping fee will be reduced to $0 per ton. This reduction will create an estimated cost savings of approximately $26.1 million through 2038.

The option to extend the lease through 2038 was part of an amendment to the lease agreement approved by both jurisdictions in 2012. The two jurisdictions then hired an outside firm to study and comprehensively assess the economic impacts, which confirmed the benefits of extending the lease.

For more information, contact Tony Castrilli, Director of Communications and Public Information for the City of Alexandria, at 703.888.7166 or Myllisa Kennedy, Communications Specialist for Arlington County’s Department of Environmental Services at 571.722.8721.