Here’s what we know about the state mandate for the Town of Brookhaven to plan an assessment for remediation.
Rummage through Long Island's waste
- With a deadline looming, Long Island towns evaluate how they collaborate on trash
- State asks New Yorkers to consider waste as ‘a concept of the past’
- Changing behavior could help Long Islanders better recycle and donate food
- Landfill inflicts ‘generational trauma’ on North Bellport residents of color
With the Brookhaven Landfill expected to begin closing over the next few years, more than two million people on Long Island will need to find new ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle more than 14 million pounds of municipal waste generated each year.
It's important to talk trash because how we throw out our garbage directly contributes to climate change, especially in environmental justice areas that are disproportionately impacted by pollution and waste disposal in their communities.
This series is in collaboration with Stony Brook University's School of Communication and Journalism. Support comes from the Solutions Journalism Network.
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Featured Story
J.D. Allen
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WSHU
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.
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Sara McGiff/WSHUSuffolk 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. -
JD Allen/WSHUMore than 75 residents in attendance called for immediate closure of the Brookhaven Landfill to prevent further environmental damage.
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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. -
The North Bellport community opposes a warehouse proposal in which the developer is requesting a payment in lieu of taxes from the Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency. The IDA is now concerned that the developer misled the community during a town planning meeting about how much the warehouse would contribute to property taxes revenue for the local school district. -
The challenge Long Island is faced with is diverting hundreds of thousands of ash waste when the Brookhaven Landfill closes. A 30-year-old boathouse in Stony Brook may hold the answer. -
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine said if there’s any toxic ash in the Brookhaven Landfill, then the state is to blame. The candidate for Suffolk County executive made the accusation during a debate hosted by News12 Long Island.
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Democratic candidates for the Suffolk County Legislature have seized on environmental justice issues due to the controversy surrounding Brookhaven Landfill’s vendor Covanta. Outside of the Yaphank facility, Minority Leader Jason Richberg called for Ed Romaine, county executive candidate and Brookhaven Town Supervisor, to be held accountable. -
The Brookhaven landfill is a key issue in the upcoming election for Suffolk County Executive. A debate hosted by Newsday became heated when candidates responded to an investigation into the landfill’s past — and its future. -
The NAACP, environmentalists and community groups want New York Attorney General Letitia James to launch an independent investigation of waste company Covanta dumping toxic ash into the Brookhaven landfill. -
New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation will continue to investigate Covanta over allegations of improper ash mixing and disposal at Brookhaven landfill.
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Between 2006 and 2014, there were several incidents where landfill vendor Covanta dumped ash at the Brookhaven landfill and that state monitors willingly looked the other way by omitting negative information on inspection reports, according to documents obtained by Newsday. -
The state Office of Environmental Justice will require the Town of Brookhaven to assess and remediate a toxic plume that has been emanating from its landfill in Yaphank for decades.
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Several months after filing her intentions to sue, Nacole Hutley remembers her late 13-year-old son. She said closing and mitigating emissions from the Brookhaven Landfill and moving the school nearby where she believes Javien Coleman got sick remain a priority. -
Following Riverhead’s decision in May, the Town of East Hampton has joined a growing number of Long Island municipalities to explore food scrap composting programs to reduce the amount of waste that is transported out of the region each year — saving taxpayer money and the environment. -
The state should expect to hear an earful from communities of color, industry leaders and advocates for environmental justice concerned about the direction of the next 10 years of waste policy. -
The Sunny Farms Landfill in Fostoria, Ohio is one of the destinations set to receive Long Island’s waste after the planned closure of Brookhaven Landfill. Residents of nearby communities are frustrated and worried about the potential harm Long Island’s garbage will bring.
