NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Covanta (NYSE:
CVA), a world leader in sustainable waste and energy solutions, has
been selected as a finalist for the 21st annual
S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards in its Corporate Social
Responsibility category, specifically recognizing its Prescription
for Safety Program (Rx4Safety). Established in 1999, the awards
highlight corporate and individual innovation, leadership and
superior performance in the energy industry. The 2019 finalists
represent companies from 37 countries.
Covanta's Rx4Safety program was created out of the urgent need
to provide safe, secure and anonymous disposal for unused and
expired prescription medications. A lack of a proper outlet for
this material has exacerbated the opioid abuse crisis by leaving
prescription medication within easy reach for potential misuse,
while at the same time putting water supplies at risk of
contamination through improper disposal. Covanta recognized that
the company's broad footprint of Energy-from-Waste facilities could
be vital in helping to address this urgent problem.
Working with local law enforcement and the DEA's bi-annual
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, the Rx4Safety program
safely destroys material from collection events organized to
prevent drugs from ending up in the wrong hands and to keep them
out of public water supplies. According to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse, storing unused medications in homes has contributed
to the opioid crisis with 80 percent of heroin users' attributing
the start of their addiction to prescription opioids.
The environment is another casualty of improper prescription
medication disposal. Typical wastewater treatment plants are not
designed to remove drugs from drinking water, and according to
nationwide testing by the U.S. Geological Survey, nearly 80 percent
of waterways show traces of pharmaceuticals.
Covanta took a powerful step in launching the Rx4Safety in 2010
and to this day, it remains the only program of its kind in the
nation. Since its inception, the program has collected and safely
destroyed over six million pounds of old and unused medication.
"Covanta is honored to be a finalist in S&P Global Platts
Global Energy Awards," said Paul
Stauder, president of Covanta Environmental Solutions.
"Rx4Safety leverages our Energy-from-Waste assets to address the
pervasive danger that drugs pose to our neighborhoods and protects
our water in the process. This is core to our mission to protect
tomorrow for the communities we serve with the decisive actions we
take today."
Through Rx4Safety, medications are collected and securely
transported to a local Covanta Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility,
deposited into a combustion chamber equipped with state-of-the-art
air emissions control equipment and safely destroyed with no
adverse impact to the environment. It is a convenient and assured
destruction method approved by the DEA.
The amount of prescription drugs collected at Take Back Days
continues to increase every year. To meet this need, Covanta has
expanded its offerings to include collection kiosks and mail-back
envelope services at retail pharmacies and other community health
care locations in the United
States. For more information visit:
www.covanta.com/healthcare-solutions.
About Covanta
Covanta is a world leader in providing
sustainable waste and energy solutions. Annually, Covanta's modern
Energy-from-Waste ("EfW") facilities safely convert approximately
21 million tons of waste from municipalities and businesses into
clean, renewable electricity to power one million homes and recycle
over 600,000 tons of metal. Through a vast network of treatment and
recycling facilities, Covanta also provides comprehensive
industrial material management services to companies seeking
solutions to some of today's most complex environmental challenges.
For more information, visit www.covanta.com.
About S&P Global Platts: At S&P Global
Platts, we provide the insights; you make better informed trading
and business decisions with confidence. We're the leading
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S&P Global Platts is a division of
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individuals, companies and governments to make decisions with
confidence. For more information, visit www.platts.com.
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SOURCE Covanta