Dear Friend, Philadelphia’s contract to incinerate trash in Chester, PA ends in June 2026 and residents have an opportunity to improve regional air quality by supporting Councilmember Jamie Gauthier’s new bill, the “Stop Trashing Our Air” Act. Reworld’s (formerly Covanta) facility in Chester is the largest waste incinerator in the country, burning 2,688 tons of waste per day, including about 30% of Philly’s trash. The facility constantly operates in High Priority Violation of the Clean Air Act and in May received a violation from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for not monitoring radioactive waste. Chester, PA is a well-known example of environmental racism caused by the clustering of polluting facilities in a municipality that’s 70% Black. The largest trash incinerator in the country, a sewage incinerator, and several chemical facilities as well as an oil refinery and a natural gas liquids export facility in neighboring municipalities all combine to create dangerous air quality in Chester. According to the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Excellence in Environmental Toxicology, Chester has the highest infant mortality rate in Pennsylvania and twice the rate of asthma as the PA state level. Chester’s 27% pediatric asthma rate is more than four times the national average. Incineration is much more harmful than landfilling waste because we don’t know what is in the waste stream. Reworld inspects less than 5% of trash trucks that enter the facility, and even then, no bags are opened during those inspections. Reworld also only tests its air pollution for heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury once a year. We simply do not know what is in the waste Reworld burns, and we also don’t know what’s in its air pollution. A loophole in federal regulations also ignores two-thirds of the climate pollution from waste incinerators. While not ideal, landfilling is a safer alternative to burning trash, and Philadelphia already landfills over half of its trash. Incineration also does not avoid landfilling. Municipal waste has about a 30% ash content and Reworld sends its incinerator ash to the Rolling Hills Landfill in Berks County. Philadelphia also sends waste to be incinerated in Bucks, Montgomery, York, and Lancaster counties. Councilmember Gauthier’s bill would completely end the incineration of Philly’s trash. Please click here to contact your City Councilperson and support this life-saving legislation. Philadelphia City Council’s Committee on the Environment is hosting a public hearing on this legislation at 1 PM on Monday, November 17th. Sincerely, Russell Zerbo, rzerbo@cleanair.org Sources: Radioactivity violation: https://www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eFACTSWeb/searchResults_singleViol.aspx?InspectionID=3986073 “High Priority Violation” of the Clean Air Act: https://echo.epa.gov/detailed-facility-report?fid=110001065016 EPA greenhouse gas loophole: https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/web/html/airem.html November 17th City Council hearing: https://phila.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1351026&GUID=7B354D70-7F5B-4250-9AA7-354042AEEF38&Search= Reworld’s air pollution permitting information: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/about-dep/regional-office-locations/southeast-regional-office/southeast-community-information/reworld-delaware-valley Municipal waste management plan: https://www.phila.gov/media/20210614135413/Municipal-Waste-Management-Plan-202010.pdf | 
