Finding a beneficial use for the combined ash left over from the EfW combustion process is a long-standing industry challenge. So, when Covanta and a Long Island-based asphalt company successfully designed and paved a road using an aggregate generated from Covanta’s residual ash as a substitute for the natural sand used in asphalt, it marked a major industry breakthrough.

It may also offer a solution for the paving industry, which faces its own challenges. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the demand for mixed-aggregate asphalt is increasing while the supply of natural sand used to create it is shrinking.