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Many of you know that the Reworld facility, formerly known as the Covanta incinerator, applied for a modification of their permit so they can burn biomedical waste at the facility. This is an issue important to many of us in Bristol, including myself, so I want to take a moment to talk about some critical details about the facility's potentially modified permit.
The Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced in July that it would be tentatively going forward with the permit. Without it, the Reworld facility processes municipal, solid, and special waste (like wood used for construction). The permit would allow minor modifications to the incinerator for medical waste. Under state statute, biomedical waste must both involve special handling and disposal by incineration.
DEEP is planning on holding a public hearing. They also recently had a conference to outline the procedures.
I know that a lot of you are concerned about this development like I am. The effects on our air quality should be mitigated and Reworld should be responsible for all the effects any new developments may have on our neighborhoods. I am imploring DEEP to have safer and strict guidelines, along with more necessary oversight over the plant in order to help this as well. Although Bristol was removed from the list of distressed communities in 2023, we remain in the five-year grace period which qualifies us as an Environmental Justice Community, meaning DEEP is within its right to place protections for us.
Additionally, with the noise affecting all of us, I feel as if this is also a matter of public health, and therefore the affect of the noise on our community should be minimized.
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