http://www.southbridgedump.org/Info/March_27th.html Residents Rally to Oppose Dump Expansion Hundreds of residents from Southbridge, Sturbridge and Charlton gathered on Thursday night in front of the Casaubon Senior Center in Southbridge to oppose a plan by Casella Waste Systems, Inc. to create the largest solid waste landfill in Massachusetts. The group, Residents for Alternatives to Trashing Southbridge (RATS!), is made up of over 200 residents from across the region, and called on the Southbridge Board of Health to protect public health and environment by saying No to Casella’s site modification. "We are delighted that so many citizens of our Tri-Community have come forward to actively participate in the Southbridge Board of Health Public Hearings,” said Larry Beinema, Southbridge resident and spokesperson for RATS!. “Together, we can stop Southbridge from becoming the largest garbage and trash landfill in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." The gathering occurred on the first night of site assignment hearings by the Southbridge Board of Health, granted authority under the Massachusetts General Laws to determine that landfill sites are not a threat to public health and safety by reviewing issues such as water quality, air quality, odor and traffic. Casella proposed last year to increase municipal solid waste brought into the Southbridge landfill from 25,000 tons per year to 405,000 tons per year, with trash coming mainly from Boston and Springfield. The hearings are being restarted after residents discovered that the community of Sturbridge, an abutter to the landfill, had not been given notice of contract negotiations with Casella. Residents speaking at the rally expressed concern about landfill odors, and impacts to environment and public health for neighborhoods nearby the dump. "Right now the smell from the landfill on Charlton Street and Worcester Street is already unbearable,” said Conrad Vandal, Southbridge Town Councilor. How could this massive expansion make it smell any better? The impact this deal would have on our residents’ quality of life is too great - I don't want Southbridge to become the Trash Capital of the East Coast." Ken O’Brien, another Southbridge Town Councilor, agreed stating "The quality of life in Southbridge will be impacted in perpetuity if Southbridge allows this deal with Casella Waste Systems to go through; we must look beyond the short-term." Residents also pointed to the threat that the landfill poses to groundwater. Landfills emit toxic gases into the air, and they also produce a toxic liquid called leachate that can pollute water resources. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that all landfills eventually leak, and the groundwater underneath the landfill flows directly towards Sturbridge. A member of the Sierra Club National Zero Waste Committee, Lynne Pledger, pointed out that "unsorted garbage can't be managed safely in the ground. Even with the best collection systems, gas escapes directly from the pile into the air. Anytime you smell a dump, you're smelling escaped gas." Casella stated in their Environmental Impact Report to the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs that “the landfill will have the potential to become a major source of volatile organic compounds approximately three years after the project change is implemented.” Many of these chemicals have been linked to cancer and other adverse human health impacts. In addition to calling on the Southbridge Board of Health to vote no, speakers at the rally called for solutions including zero waste plans for waste reduction and looked forward to the future with other ways of bringing income and development to the region. The Sierra Club recently released a Zero Waste Policy and 22 towns in Vermont have now set zero waste goals. Zero waste programs increase recycling and diversion of garbage, decreasing dependence on landfills and other polluting solid waste facilities, like incinerators. Bill Emrich, Sturbridge Selectman, voiced his concerns saying “Those of us who care about Sturbridge, Southbridge and Charlton have big hopes and dreams for this community—we want to increase viable businesses, ecotourism and quality of life for all of our residents. 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