“State officials would be absolutely right to deny the expansion of this already massive, polluting landfill,” said Kirstie Pecci, director of CLF’s Zero Waste Project. “No new landfills or expansions of landfills are allowed in an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The Saugus Ash Landfill is in the middle of one of these areas, so it is not allowed to expand vertically. End of story.”
Incinerator companies have done a great job green-washing their true impacts on communities by implying that so-called “waste-to-incineration” facilities are good neighbors offering a safe process that eliminates waste, allows for robust recycling programs, and generates renewable energy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is burning waste harms the health, environment, and economy of many communities. The perceived benefits simply aren’t worth the risk.
Update May 9, 2018: Conservation Law Foundation has filed an appeal to stop the expansion of the Wheelabrator Saugus ash landfill. When the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) this week gave its final okay for an ash landfill in Saugus to expand, it signaled that polluting our communities and our environment is perfectly fine… Continue reading Public Concerns Ignored in Approval of Massive Landfill Expansion
As we close out a month in which the Massachusetts coast was hit with three nor’easters – and narrowly missed a fourth – Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is still considering whether to allow Wheelabrator to continue dumping huge quantities of ash from its trash incinerator into its adjacent landfill in Saugus. The Agency’s… Continue reading Deadline Looms for Decision on Expansion of Dangerous Landfill in Saugus
This may be the most dangerous landfill in Massachusetts, yet MassDEP intends to continue to allow it to expand with no end in sight – but we have a chance to put a stop to it if we speak up now.
Landfills like this one in Saugus, MA, are notorious for releasing lead, mercury, and other cancer-causing chemicals into our air and water – so it’s no surprise that the surrounding communities are feeling the burden of their polluting neighbor.
What if I told you that I wanted to build a facility in your town that would cost taxpayers a lot to construct, but create only a few low-quality jobs? Once operational, it would contaminate the air and groundwater and poison neighbors’ wells for decades. What’s more, this contamination would be largely ignored, and probably… Continue reading Landfills, Incinerators, and Waste Disposal: Not a Necessary Evil, Just Evil
CLF Launches Zero-Waste Project to Tackle Massachusetts’s Trash Problem On a Monday night in February, more than 100 people crowded into the Sturbridge, Massachusetts, town hall for an emergency meeting of the town’s Board of Health. Nineteen wells in the Sturbridge neighborhood closest to the massive Southbridge Landfill had just tested high for lead –… Continue reading Talking Trash
