PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island environmental regulators have denied a permit for a medical waste-to-energy facility in West Warwick.
In denying the application on Tuesday for MedRecycler-RI Inc., the Department of Environmental Management cited several factors, including a recently passed law prohibiting new high-heat medical waste processing facilities in the state.
The agency also cited environmental concerns; a lack of adequate details about testing protocols; the facility’s lack of emergency response plans; a lack of clarity about how much and where medical waste would be stored; the facility’s proximity to residential neighborhoods; and questions about the facility’s technology, which has not previously been used on medical waste.
The company planned to use a process known as pyrolysis to break down used gloves, tubing and syringes to generate power.
MedRecycler has said the facility will be safe, provide jobs and tax revenue. The site would not accept hazardous waste.
The company said it was not subject to the new law because it does not apply retroactively.
Nicholas Campanella, chairman and CEO of MedRecycler’s parent company, Sun Pacific Holding Corp., told The Boston Globe that the company is considering its legal options.
