One endpoint of the NYC waste stream

11.09.09

Since the closure of Fresh Kills Landfill in 2001, districts outside of New York City, and as far as Virginia and Ohio, have become destinations for the city’s garbage.  Just north of Philadelphia, a 6,000-acre complex of Bucks County landfills–in Tullytown, Falls Township and Morrisville, PA–receive about 2,500 tons of New York City’s trash each day.  Along with the waste, these three municipalities have also received millions of dollars from Waste Management, the company that runs the landfill complex and imports waste from New York through a contract with the Department of Sanitation.  Tullytown property owners receive an annual check of $5,000 from Waste Management, and the municipality has a $50 billion surplus.  Waste Management offers free trash pick-up for Falls Township residents and has donated 4-wheel-drive vehicles to the Police Department of Morrisville.

At 283,902 tons of garbage received annually, GROWS North Landfill in Tullytown ranks third by volume as a destination for New York City’s garbage.  Number one is a landfill in Waverly, VA, which received 932,536 tons of trash in fiscal year 2009, almost a third of the 3.3 million tons of residential waste produced by New York City each year.

(via The New York Times)

Tags: Department of Sanitation, garbage, landfills, New York City