Solid Waste

A year later, plans unsettled for the closure of Brookhaven Landfill

A year later, plans unsettled for the closure of Brookhaven Landfill

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine at an environmental symposium on Wednesday, March 13 at Stony Brook University.

This year marks the beginning of the end for Brookhaven Landfill.

That is what spurred discussion among industry groups and environmental advocates at an environmental symposium on Wednesday, March 13 at Stony Brook University, seeking answers for the future of waste disposal on Long Island.

Suffolk's 10 towns to create plan for regional waste program

Suffolk's 10 towns to create plan for regional waste program

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said Wednesday he would convene a meeting of the county’s 10 towns to begin discussing plans for a regional solid waste program to prepare for the closure of the Brookhaven landfill.

Suffolk's 10 towns to create plan for regional waste program

Suffolk's 10 towns to create plan for regional waste program

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said Wednesday he would convene a meeting of the county’s 10 towns to begin discussing plans for a regional solid waste program to prepare for the closure of the Brookhaven landfill.

Speaking at a Stony Brook University environmental symposium, Romaine warned the landfill closure, expected by early 2028, would have a ripple effect across Long Island as contractors and municipalities ship more waste to out-of-state landfills — boosting construction costs and taxes.

Babylon Town updates containers to hold runoff from waste facility

Babylon Town updates containers to hold runoff from waste facility

The Town of Babylon is spending nearly $3.5 million to update containers that store runoff from its waste facility.

The aboveground tanks are used to hold leachate, or runoff, from the town’s ashfill in West Babylon. The ash results from Covanta’s waste-to-energy incinerator where garbage is burned.

Palumbo hosts roundtable meeting in Riverhead to discuss environmental issues

Palumbo hosts roundtable meeting in Riverhead to discuss environmental issues

Representatives of environmental groups, community groups and local government officials across eastern Suffolk County turned out for a two-hour, wide-ranging conversation with state legislators Thursday morning in Riverhead. 

Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to stop proposed Yaphank waste transfer station, distribution center

Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to stop proposed Yaphank waste transfer station, distribution center

A state Supreme Court judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the state NAACP and an environmental nonprofit that aimed to block a proposed Yaphank solid waste transfer station that would ship construction trash off Long Island by rail.

An NAACP spokesman and Farmingdale nonprofit Citizens Campaign for the Environment said they would appeal.

Long Island, New York, landfill closure extended as officials search for ash solutions

Long Island, New York, landfill closure extended as officials search for ash solutions

The Brookhaven landfill is still slated to stop accepting C&D waste by the end of this year, but may accept ash until 2027 or 2028.

Dive Brief:

  • The Brookhaven Landfill on Long Island, New York, may get two extra years of life to accept incinerator ash, newly elected Town Supervisor Dan Panico told Newsday last week. Panico is seeking an extension of the landfill’s permit that would allow it to remain open until 2027 or 2028, rather than its current permit expiration on July 11, 2026.

  • Local leaders are working to find alternative disposal capacity for incinerator ash from the Covanta-run facility in Westbury that handles much of Suffolk County’s waste. Panico also confirmed the landfill would stop accepting C&D waste — which constitutes 65% of the waste accepted at the landfill annually — by the end of the year.

  • The permit extension will buy extra time for private industry solutions to press forward. Carlson Corp., a longtime Long Island C&D and organic waste processor, has applied for federal permission to construct a rail terminal to process and ship waste off the island. Winters Bros. has also floated a proposal for a rail terminal adjacent to the Brookhaven Landfill.

Long Island Community Foundation awards $700G to empower girls, promote social justice, more

Long Island Community Foundation awards $700G to empower girls, promote social justice, more

In its year-end distribution of charitable grants, the Long Island Community Foundation announced it had given more than $700,000 to 28 groups spanning a wide range of projects, from environmental and conservation causes to the arts to youth development.

Long Island Sound watershed projects get $12M in grants

Long Island Sound watershed projects get $12M in grants

Thirty-nine grants totaling $12 million have been awarded to nonprofit organizations and a municipality working to improve the ecological health of Long Island Sound, federal officials announced Monday.

North Bellport outcries for state probe into ash disposal at Brookhaven landfill

North Bellport outcries for state probe into ash disposal at Brookhaven landfill

The NAACP, environmentalists and community groups want New York Attorney General Letita James to launch an independent investigation of waste company Covanta dumping toxic ash into the Brookhaven landfill.

The Unstoppable Sand Land

The Unstoppable Sand Land

IN THE HILLS of the Hamptons, next to one of the most expensive golf clubs in the country, sits a big pit. It spans an area of just over 30 acres — about six city blocks — and drops more than 100 feet deep in some parts, with heaps of sand scattered throughout. Heavy machinery scoops that sand out of the ground, sifts it, and loads it onto trucks for sale. It’s a mine called Sand Land, and it operates much as it has for more than half a century.

It isn’t supposed to. New York’s highest court ruled more than six months ago that Sand Land’s permits were invalid, and regulators told the company to stop mining. The town slapped a stop work order at the entrance. The state Department of Environmental Conservation (dec) sent inspectors and issued violation notices. Sand Land kept digging.

New York forces Brookhaven to address toxic plume coming from its landfill

New York forces Brookhaven to address toxic plume coming from its landfill

Brookhaven Landfill rises behind the Frank P. Long Intermediate School and playground in North Bellport.

An underground plume of PFAS and other dangerous chemicals has emanated from the Brookhaven Landfill for decades. The Town of Brookhaven is now ordered to measure how far they must go to remediate affected drinking water sources.

Months after a mother went to court, the closure of Brookhaven Landfill is still at stake

Months after a mother went to court, the closure of Brookhaven Landfill is still at stake

Javien Coleman, 13, attended Frank P. Long Intermediate School when he was diagnosed with cancer. He died last year.

Outside Nacole Hutley’s home there is a shrine to her son, Javien Coleman. Decorated for each holiday, it is a place where the family can honor him with photos and his football jersey, number 21.

Inside the house, photographs of young Javien fill the walls and tables, keeping his memory and smile alive.

13-year-old Javien died in 2022, a year after being diagnosed with lymphoma. Just a year before his diagnosis, he had begun attending Frank P. Long Intermediate School, half a mile from the Brookhaven Landfill.