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Draft Policy Paper: Environmental Policy—Waste Management

GPNJ Supports Efforts To End Garbage Incineration

Madelyn Hoffman

Background:  History

A few summers ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for states, counties or other solid waste districts to control the flow of garbage within their borders and to require that the  garbage be brought to one specific location.  This ruling sent shock waves through states, counties and solid waste districts that had contracted to build garbage incinerators, relying on a "put or pay" contract—one that  required each district to supply a set amount of trash every year for the  terms of the contract, anywhere from 10 to 30 years, or else pay a severe  financial penalty.  New Jersey was one of those states required to find an alternative plan for handling its trash, since five incinerators had been  built under the old rules.

This past summer it seemed a foregone conclusion that the Montclair Township Council and other Essex County municipalities would agree to "voluntarily" ship their trash to the Newark garbage incinerator for at least the next 10  years.  But a small and vocal group of Montclair residents, joined by long-time activists against incineration and local members of the Green  Party, began to express their opposition to this plan at every opportunity.

Sustainable Trash Handling

The Green Party supports the desire of local groups, like Solid Waste Alternative Partners (SWAP), to see trash handled in a sustainable way, not  through incineration. Together with local groups, the Greens urged Montclair  and other Essex County towns to pursue alternatives that would be cheaper and  less harmful to the environment. Towns could implement new recycling and food  composting programs and bolster existing programs.

While, unfortunately, Montclair voted to participate in this contract, numerous changes were made to the contract to reflect residents' concerns about recycling and the mandatory "put or pay" provision turned "voluntary" that nearly bankrupted Essex County.  Bailing out the incinerator, which if  left to compete on the open market would price itself out of business, is neither a safe nor a healthy option.  Efforts continue to expand recycling  programs and to convince Montclair and other towns that incineration is NOT the way to handle the county's trash.

Residents of Newark and residents of Elizabeth are embroiled in a fight to seriously limit, if not eliminate, the amount of New York City garbage coming to the plant, meaning increased truck traffic, increased pollution risk, and increased risk of accidents.  This is an issue of environmental justice.

Local Control of Dumping

The Green Party of New Jersey continues to supported these efforts to stop  the incineration of trash, but is also looking more closely at adopting a  position on the issue of New Jersey accepting New York City trash, especially  in neighborhoods that already have more than their fair share of pollution.  In addition to the trash transfer station in use in Elizabeth, there are also  plans for Linden to barge in New York City trash and plans to expand the  amount of trash brought to the Newark garbage incinerator.  While the  Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution makes it legally  impossible to stop the flow of trash, residents of all three towns want to  build as much political support to prevent New York City from dumping on  already overburdened communities.