Springfield, Massachusetts Works to Stop Incinerator Proposal: Victories in Springfield and Statewide for better trash policy

 Across New England, Toxics Action Center is working to have states and towns commit to waste reduction instead of continuing to burn and bury resources. In Massachusetts, Toxics Action Center is simultaneously winning victories for Zero Waste and fighting proposals that will roll back progress already made.

Toxics Action Center co-founded an alliance of environmental and health organizations called Don’t Waste Massachusetts, which is pushing the state to set a goal of Zero Waste and adopt strong recycling policies in its Solid Waste Master Plan, the blueprint for how Massachusetts will manage trash for the next decade.

The coalition won a major victory in December when Governor Patrick announced he was maintaining a 20-year ban on building new municipal trash incinerators, and instead would be backing strong recycling policies. 

Unfortunately, there are proposals right now to reverse the reduce, reuse, and recycle trend. A company has proposed a construction and demolition waste incinerator in the heart of East Springfield, the first incinerator of its kind in the state. The project flew through the local permitting process disguised as a “wood recycling facility,” yet this wolf in sheep’s clothing proposes to burn an average of 700 tons per day of toxic construction waste in addition to 200 tons per day of clean wood.

“Construction waste is one of the most toxic parts of our waste stream, emitting toxins and heavy metals into the air like lead, mercury and arsenic,” said Megan Jenny, the Western Massachusetts Toxics Action Center Organizer. “Already Springfield is overburdened by industrial pollution: one in five children in the city have asthma,  twice the rate of the Commonwealth.”

 Just months before the Department of Environmental Protection was scheduled to make their final decision, Michaelann Bewsee, Lee Ann and Stuart Warner, Patrice Pare and others formed the group Stop Toxic Incineration in Springfield to mobilize the community against the proposed toxic incinerator.

The group built a broad coalition and recruited for two hearings, turning out more than 300 people to the DEP’s public comment hearing in early December. Just one week later, the governor  announced that he would halt all permits for facilities like the one proposed in Springfield while a statewide study is done to assess the public health and environmental risks.

In early August, Toxics Action Center sent ten staff to Springfield to assist the community group Stop Toxic Incineration in Springfield in collecting over 800 petitions to Springfield city counselors asking them to call a hearing to revoke the incinerator's permit.  The grassroots push culminated in a press conference on the steps of city hall where over 50 community members attended to show support.