Marion County prepares a Plan B for handling local garbage

A Covanta Marion worker operates the claw that hoists trash into the incinerator. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter)

Garbage truck after garbage truck wheels into a nondescript industrial area in Brooks every day, bringing heaps of trash to the Covanta Marion waste incinerator.

Last year, trucks hauled in 168,343 tons of garbage to the plant. Much of the garbage is burned to generate electricity.

That waste-to-energy process may come to a halt soon, and impact the garbage…