If interested, then learn from Covanta Holding Corporation to generate revenue of $1,868 million recorded in 2018 from burning trash.

The private company is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. The company was founded in 1939. Ogden Corporation was a holding company known for its investments in utility businesses, later becoming the parent company corporation of Covanta.

The company provides its services in energy-from-waste and industrial waste management. The revenue is mostly generated from operating power plants by burning trash as fuel.

A fee is assigned to waste disposal by Covanta and they also sell electricity produced in the process. The company is also involved in recovering metal for recycling.

W.A.Case & Son manufacturing company was acquired by Ogden in 1952 to shift its focus to manufacturing. The company expanded its reach in other industries such as entertainment and food.

Later on, the company acquired a metal scrap recycling company known as Luria Brothers. Ogden also shifted from manufacturing to service business-oriented services. In 1982, the company also acquired $118 million from Allied Maintenance corporation.

Ogden changed its name to Covanta in 2001 to focus on energy. The company failed miserably and led to Bankruptcy. The company lost its focus on energy generating to various other investments such as casinos, hockey stadiums, and other areas.

The company got revived by Danielson Holding Corporation in 2004 by selling out all the remaining purchased areas and focusing only on the energy-from-waste business. Later in the year, Covanta acquired American Ref-Fuel for $2 billion.

In 2009, Covanta bought the energy-from-waste business of Veolia Environment for $450 million. In 2014, the company acquired the environmental service companies Advanced Waste Services and GARCO. The amount has not been disclosed.

Covanta Holding Corporation is one of the world leaders in sustainable waste and energy solution companies.

Covanta is known for operating more than 40 waste-to-energy plants in North America, China, and Europe. The revenues are mostly from long-term contracts with local governments or utility providers. The company also benefits from tax incentives for green energy projects.

The company got its record of burning 20 million tons of garbage annually in 2018. A furnace of 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit is used to burn the trash. Also, 550,000 tons of metal are being recycled. The trash consist of organic substances, and a small number of pharmaceutical byproducts such as expired medicines.

The garbage ton consists of around 50 pounds of metal removed with magnets and sold again for recycling. The energy is used for producing steam to rotate a turbine to power a generator.