Very few municipal waste (trash) incinerators in the nation are permitted to burn untreated medical waste. Covanta Marion – the only trash incinerator in Oregon – is one of them. Most hospitals and other producers of medical waste have switched to safer non-burn alternatives in the past 35 years. In 2021, Rhode Island became the latest state to ban medical waste incineration. By importing and burning medical waste from other states as well as Canada, the Covanta Corporation keeps their trash incinerator in Oregon profitable while they have sold off or closed similar facilities around the country. Burning medical waste in a trash incinerator is only viable because of a federal loophole that allows weaker standards.