Organization and Basis of Presentation (Details) $ / shares in Units, ton in Millions, MW in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($) MW ton Facility $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($) MW ton Facility $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number Of Reportable Business Segments			1
Segment Reporting, Additional Information about Entity's Reportable Segments			North America, which is comprised of waste and energy services operations located primarily in the United States and Canada.
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)	$ (40)	$ 6	$ (30)	$ (8)
NET INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO COVANTA HOLDING CORPORATION	(6)	5	(43)	(4)
Loss on Contracts		12
Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)	(169)		(169)		$ (15)
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	2,591		2,591		2,606
Deferred Tax Liabilities, Net, Noncurrent	720		720		743
Cost of Services, Energy Services	300	268	589	550
Cost of Services, Depreciation and Amortization	$ 50	$ 53	98	106
Net Income (Loss), Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest			$ (43)	(4)
Energy From Waste Process [Member]
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Total Annual Waste Processed | ton	20		20
Annual Output | MW	10		10
Energy From Waste Facilities [Member]
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number Of Energy From Waste Facilities | Facility	45		45
Other Energy Generation Facilities [Member]
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number Of Facilities | Facility	11		11
Accounting Standards Update 2014-05 [Member]
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)	$ 4		$ 5
Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted | $ / shares	$ 0.04		$ 0.05
Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)					60
Cumulative Effect of Prospective Application of New Accounting Principle					45
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net					75
Deferred Tax Liabilities, Net, Noncurrent					30
Cost of Services, Energy Services	$ 14		$ 22
Cost of Services, Depreciation and Amortization	(5)		(10)
Net Income (Loss), Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest	5		$ 7
Restatement Adjustment [Member]
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)	$ (5)			4
NET INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO COVANTA HOLDING CORPORATION				$ 4
Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted | $ / shares				$ 0.04
Scenario, Previously Reported [Member]
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)					$ 15