Montgomery County Transfer Station Recognized With Highest Health and Safety Honor by the Maryland Department of Labor

DERWOOD, Md., Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Covanta Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) and a world leader in the development and operation of Energy-from-Waste and other renewable energy projects, today announced that the Montgomery County Transfer Station operated by Covanta Montgomery, Inc. has earned Star status in Maryland's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) administered by the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MOSH). An official flag-raising ceremony was held onsite.

VPP Star status is the highest honor given to worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems. Sites such as the Montgomery County Transfer Station have demonstrated their commitment to effective employee protection beyond the requirements of state or federal standards and participants develop and implement systems to effectively identify, evaluate, prevent and control occupational hazards to avert injuries and illnesses.

"This achievement was made possible by the steadfast commitment to health and safety by those working at the Montgomery County Transfer Station. I salute this group of employees for their accomplishment in obtaining this prestigious recognition," said Seth Myones, President, Covanta Americas. "As a company, we are proud to reach the milestone of having 40 facilities achieve VPP Star status. The achievement reinforces our unwavering focus on the continuous improvement of health and safety programs at all Covanta worksites."

In awarding this elite status, MOSH gives strong consideration to the level of employee engagement and ongoing involvement in on-site health and safety program development combined with long term commitment and support from management. Star recipients routinely incur injury and illness rates that are at or below the state average for their specific industry. As of July 23, the transfer station has not had a recordable accident for two years.

Continuous improvement of health and safety programs is central to Covanta's corporate and workplace cultures and has lead to a majority of Covanta's North American facilities earning the prestigious VPP Star status. The transfer station joins 39 other Covanta sites in North America. Covanta is among the top 10 companies in the United States to enter the majority of its operating locations in the OSHA VPP Star Program.

An integral part of the Montgomery County community, the Montgomery County Transfer Station has processed more than 9 million tons of trash since 1993. After processing, all trash is transported by railroad to the Covanta-operated Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility in Dickerson, where it is converted into clean energy and used to power local homes. The Energy-from-Waste facility processes up to 1,800 tons-per-day of solid waste, generating up to 55 megawatts of renewable energy or enough power for 40,000 homes and recycles more than 10,000 tons of metal annually.

About Covanta

Covanta Energy is an internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects and a recipient of the Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.  Covanta's 44 Energy-from-Waste facilities provide communities with an environmentally sound solution to their solid waste disposal needs by using that municipal solid waste to generate clean, renewable energy. Annually, Covanta's modern Energy-from-Waste facilities safely and securely convert more than 20 million tons of waste into 9 million megawatt hours of clean renewable electricity and create more than 9 billion pounds of steam that are sold to a variety of industries. For more information, visit www.covantaenergy.com.

SOURCE Covanta Energy