Waste-to-energy company Covanta is rebranding as Reworld as it looks to tout growth in both its core business and emerging segments, the company announced Tuesday. Covanta has been under the management of European investment firm EQT Infrastructure since 2021.
“With this strategic evolution, we aim to redefine partnerships in waste management, focusing on converting waste into valuable resources through advanced technological applications,” Reworld President and CEO Azeez Mohammed said in a release. “The reimagining of our company underscores Reworld's dedication to innovation, excellence in customer service, and a collective vision for enabling the reduction, efficient reuse, recycling, and recovery of diverse waste streams.”
In 2021, Mohammed became CEO of what was then Covanta, following the EQT deal. The $5.3 billion sale was contingent on several sustainability growth metrics, including a 25% increase by 2025 in waste recycled or reused. The company was the largest operator of mass-burn combustion facilities in the U.S. at the time of the sale, and it has grown since then.
Covanta’s portfolio expanded from 50 to 90 facilities since the EQT deal, bolstered by eight acquisitions. That includes a major deal last year to acquire Circon. The move doubled the company’s water services offerings and grew its geographic footprint in the Midwest and major markets like Houston.
In part thanks to those acquisitions, the company has also increased the waste it diverts from landfills from about 1.5 million tons in 2021 to 3 million tons today. Its headcount has also increased from 3,800 employees to 4,500, according to a spokesperson. That growth pattern is putting the company on track to meet its 2025 sustainability goals, Mohammed told Waste Dive last year.
Mohammed has previously discussed the company’s pivot to growing its environmental services and sustainable materials management business, noting that leadership wants to make those “a sizable part of the business.” By January 2023, Covanta had increased adjusted EBITDA for material processing facilities by 47% year over year, according to Mohammed.
The company aims to emphasize those capabilities as it finds new solutions for municipal and private customers alike. As part of its rebrand, it’s also renaming various waste solutions divisions, including:
- ReDirect360 (zero waste-to-landfill)
- ReDrop (wastewater treatment)
- ReKiln (alternative fuel engineering)
- ReMove (transportation and logistics)
- ReCredit (sustainable carbon offsets)
The company will continue to face a shifting landscape for waste-to-energy facilities as Reworld. Covanta has faced pressure to close certain facilities in recent years, including an embattled facility in Stanislaus County, California. The company’s WTE plant in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, has also faced increased scrutiny from local officials, becoming a flashpoint in last year’s Philadelphia mayoral race.
Nevertheless, the company continues to invest in its WTE assets. In Florida, it secured a deal to expand a facility in Pasco County for up to $550 million last year, and has expressed interest in operating a new WTE plant in Miami-Dade County to replace an older plant that was destroyed by fire. Over the past two years, Covanta logged more than $1 billion in infrastructure enhancements across its portfolio, Reworld said in a release.
In addition to the rebrand, the company announced it would launch a new customer portal soon to further streamline operations.
