Long Island has a trash problem, according to environmental and community advocates. However, they don’t agree what should be done about it.
The Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) endorsed this week trucking in over 1,900 tons per day of construction and demolition debris to a waste transfer station proposed in Medford. The trash would then be hauled away by railway. It’s one of three transfer stations proposed, including Brentwood and Yaphank. But CCE does not support the other two because of potential health hazards.
Progressive grassroot organizations, including the Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group, are concerned that the transfer station, as well as two other similar proposals in Suffolk County, disproportionately affect low-income and communities of color. They call for the Town of Brookhaven to consider environmental justice in their approval process of permitting what to do with trash in central Suffolk County when the Brookhaven Landfill is expe
COURTESY OFFICE OF SUFFOLK COUNTY LEGIS. SAMUEL GONZALEZ
A group of school board officials, parents and lawmakers sent letters to the Town of Islip on Long Island in opposition of a proposed waste transfer facility in Brentwood.
The plan is for the facility to handle over 1,500 tons per day of construction and demolition debris and over 800 tons of trash daily. The waste would be trucked in, processed, and then hauled off by rail.
Suffolk County Legislator Samuel Gonzalez says the “daily traffic disruption” to the facility will destroy the roads. He is also worried about the potential health impacts of having a dump in a residential community.