Covanta expands partnership with Wreaths Across America

Covanta of Morristown, New Jersey, announced it has expanded its partnership with Wreaths Across America to sustainably recycle and dispose of wreaths that are laid on gravestones of military veterans at cemeteries across the country. Wreaths Across America is a national nonprofit organization founded in 2007 with a mission to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and their families and teach the next generation about the value of freedom.

In the weeks following the end of the holiday season, Wreaths Across America volunteers collect hundreds of thousands of evergreen wreaths placed at over 1,640 participating locations. To help ease the burden of disposal, the wreaths are delivered and processed at nearby Covanta energy-from-waste facilities free of charge. Covanta’s facilities then recover energy from the organic portion of the wreaths, and the metal frame is collected for recycling.

Covanta has participated in the program since 2017 and is now accepting wreaths at six locations in Virginia and at all of Covanta’s facilities on Long Island in New York State.

“Covanta is pleased to provide Wreaths Across America with this vital service,” says Edward Sandkuhl, the facility manager at Covanta Hempstead. “As a Navy veteran, I am proud to support an organization that remembers and reverently honors the deceased men and women of our military. At Covanta, we are committed to supporting veterans, which account for 15 percent of our U.S. workforce.”

“We are continually looking for ways to support our participating locations,” says Wayne Hanson, the location coordinator volunteer with Wreaths Across America for Arlington National Cemetery and the chairman of the board of directors. “We are grateful for Covanta’s growing support of our mission and the sustainable solution they are providing to help prevent the veterans’ wreaths from going to waste.”

Wreaths from Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia are processed at Covanta Fairfax and Covanta Alexandria/Arlington. Wreaths collected from Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York are sent to Covanta’s Long Island facilities.

Covanta’s Long Island facilities alone will collect approximately 40,000 wreaths, generating enough energy to supply electricity to eight homes for one month. In addition, the metal recovered from the Long Island facilities amounts to over 1,000 pounds, enough to manufacture over 8,000 soup cans, Covanta says.