Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group

Last updated
Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group (BLARG)
Formation2020
FounderHannah Thomas, Dennis Nix, Monique Fitzgerald
Location
Key people
Abena Asare, Kerim Odekon, and Michelle Mendez
Website https://www.landfillaction.org/

The Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group (BLARG) is a grassroots environmental justice organization that is seeking to close and clean up the toxic 140-acre Brookhaven Landfill (1974 - present). [1] [2] BLARG's mission is to support direct efforts to attain environmental justice in the North Bellport community through the implementation of local and regional waste plans that are equitable, sustainable, measurable, and public. [3]

Contents

North Bellport is a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood, that also has the lowest life expectancy on Long Island, as well as the second-highest rates of asthma in Suffolk County. [1] [4] Every year, about 720,000 tons of construction and demolition waste and about 350,000 tons of incinerator ash from across Long Island is dumped into the Brookhaven Landfill, which is regarded as being the main reason for the dangerous health effects in the community. [5]

History

BLARG was cofounded by several North Bellport community members including Hannah Thomas, Dennis Nix and Monique Fitzgerald. [6] This group was officially founded in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd to acknowledge that George Floyd did not have to die and the only way to prevent premature death of black people is to identify what systemic issues are putting black lives most at risk. [6]

Projects

In 2021, BLARG helped stop the expansion of Brookhaven Landfill which was a monumental achievement to protect future generations from harm. [7] [8]

In Summer 2021, BLARG began a collaborative effort with local members to haul away food waste on bikes to community composting facilities, and to apply compost education takeaways to its own community on Long Island. [9]

In 2022, BLARG started its own a successful Community Composting Collective that diverted tons of organic waste from Brookhaven Landfill, preventing significant amounts of planet-warming methane gas from being generated and released in the atmosphere. [7] [10]

In 2023, BLARG advocated State Attorney General Letitia James to investigate Covanta Hempstead, a waste-to-energy plant, owned by Covanta in their dumping of ash into Brookhaven Landfill that they were uncertain on whether was nonhazardous. [11] This prompted a multi-year investigation of Covanta Hempstead by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), despite the Town of Brookhaven actually siding with Covanta.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landfill</span> Site for the disposal of waste materials

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References

  1. 1 2 Leuzzi, Linda (2021-04-15). "With Town's landfill plan revoked, they're still pushing for change". The Long Island Advance. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  2. ↑ bvawebmaster (2021-01-14). "Brookhaven Landfill Action & Remediation Group (BLARG)" . Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  3. ↑ "BLARG". BLARG. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  4. ↑ "How long will you live?". Newsday. 2018-12-30. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  5. ↑ StFleur, Nicholas (2023-05-22). "'A textbook case of environmental racism': The battle over the Brookhaven Landfill". STAT. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  6. 1 2 "Who is BLARG?". BLARG. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  7. 1 2 "Member Spotlight: All Things Kind, BLARG, People over Plastic, Pirani Life". Plastic Pollution Coalition. 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  8. ↑ "New York forces Brookhaven to address toxic plume coming from its landfill". Citizens Campaign for the Environment. 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  9. ↑ "What solution to trash does Brooklyn, Brookhaven and New Haven share? Community composting". WSHU. 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  10. ↑ "General 5". BLARG. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  11. ↑ "Brookhaven landfill critics call for attorney general to probe ash disposal". Newsday. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
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