As part of our focus on waste and environmental pollution, my environmental sociology class toured Covanta’s Babylon facility. This is a waste-to-energy facility that produces enough energy to light one in three houses in Babylon. The site is located on an old landfill that polluted the groundwater. As part of their contract with the city, Covanta cleans the contaminated water and uses the clean water to operate their equipment. After a technical lecture about their operations, our guide took us around the facility and we even braved the room where the trash is sorted.