Waste Management

After reports of the disposal of hazardous ash waste, the Town of Brookhaven will try to end its part in a whistleblower lawsuit against a company that burns much of Long Island’s household trash into ash.

The New London County Farm Bureau in Connecticut wants to get more anaerobic digesters on farms. The digesters take waste from cows and food and turn it into electricity and useful by-products that power local communities and help farmers.

In letters to Suffolk’s 10 town supervisors, the New York State NAACP questions County Executive Ed Romaine’s record in supporting industry leaders’ efforts to manage solid waste. The discussions between the county, towns and businesses were set for Wednesday in a closed-door meeting.

Cleanup crews at Bethpage Community Park on Long Island have dug up 10 containers of chemical waste at the site formerly used by Grumman Aerospace. Workers are using ground-penetrating radar to look for what else might be buried in the park after another layer of concrete was discovered this week.

Local environmental and justice groups are challenging the Town of Brookhaven’s decision to allow a developer to construct a pair of warehouses. They worry Winter Brothers will use the property to build a planned waste transfer station. The town has said that’s unlikely.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine spoke at an environmental symposium on Wednesday, March 13 at Stony Brook University where lawmakers, industry groups and environmental advocates sought answers for Long Island’s plans for waste disposal as the Brookhaven Landfill slowly transitions to be shut down.

More than 75 residents in attendance called for immediate closure of the Brookhaven Landfill to prevent further environmental damage.

A state Supreme Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit to block construction of a solid waste transfer station in Yaphank to haul trash off Long Island.

The federal Surface Transportation Board submitted a draft environmental assessment for the Townline Rail Terminal in Smithtown, New York, finding that building more than 5,000 feet of freight rail off of the Long Island Rail Road will have a “negligible” impact on the environment and nearby community.

Officials said Brookhaven plans to keep the Yaphank-based landfill open until 2027 or early 2028 to accept waste burned into ash at incinerators owned by waste-to-energy company Covanta. That would also require the town to seek an extension of its state-issued permit when it expires in 2026.