According to PhillyMag’s article “Only One State Has More Trash Per Capita Than Pennsylvania,” by importing trash from other states, Pennsylvania can make $4 billion annually.
According to “Friends of Lackawanna,” Dunmore and Throop have been home to one of the largest landfills in PA for over 30 years. The Keystone Sanitary Landfill currently accepts over 7,200 tons of trash per day, compared to Center County’s waste facility CCRRA of 270 tons of trash per day on average. It takes 36% of waste from Pennsylvania and 64% from NY, NJ, and CT. The landfill admits it is leaking into the groundwater system, and posing potential threats to Dunmore’s backup drinking water supply. The landfill also accepts fracking drill cuttings and drilling mud. The cuttings are mixed with small amounts of naturally occurring radioactive elements, particularly radium-226. Lastly, studies have shown living near landfills has exponentially high health risks, including cancer, brain damage, and even congenital disabilities.
Ironically, on Oct. 15th, the “ABC News” says the Keystone Landfill has been seeking approval to expand its landfill for more than five years. The article also tells that the plan has already passed a zoning ordinance on a 4-3 vote that would allow the landfill to grow, which can keep the landfill open for another 50 years, adding over 100 million tons of trash and create a mountain of garbage twice the current height. The mayor, Tim Burke, vetoed the council’s decision to amend the zoning rules, which limits the landfill’s expansion. Burke has been an opponent to the development for a long time, and he was elected as the mayor by promising not to allow the expansion in 2017. Because of the veto, Dunmore Borough Council will have to vote again but need a “supermajority,” five votes instead of four.
Mayor Burke claims that himself, his wife, his family, and his friends all felt sick about the proposal by Keystone. Concerning the Keystone would betray them. The mayor also concerns the property value will decrease due to the expansion of the landfill, which will drive residents out while leaving fewer people here as a tax base. Eventually, Dunmore may become a trashy ghost town. On the other hand, Keystone Landfill spokesperson Al Magnotta told the “ABC News” that “while frustrating, he doesn’t see the mayor’s veto as a huge setback.
Overall these news articles are telling us that one of the landfills in Pennsylvania is running out of space and is seeking expansion. According to the Center County GIS data and CCRRA’s response, all five landfill sites in the Spring Creek Watershed have filled up 20 years ago. The current landfills are sent to the landfill about one and a half-hour drive from State College. If we do not divert our waste, we may experience the hazards posed by extreme environmental contamination of landfills. And from the numbers given by the news articles, the trash crisis is expected to come within our lifetime.