South Hadley landfill makes "Dirty Dozen" list

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP) - The South Hadley Landfill is rated as one of the top 12 pollution threats in New England.

General Electric in Pittsfield is one of the recipients. And Advanced Waste Disposal, operators of the South Hadley landfill are also among the group.

This is the 25th year the “Dirty Dozen” awards have been handed out by the public health organization Toxics Action Center. These awards spotlight businesses whose ways of disposing trash pose a risk to public health.

Bob Flaherty belongs to HOPE, a community group of South Hadley residents against the expansion of the landfill. His group nominated the Industrial Drive site; it was one of 60 entries.

Flaherty said, “It doesn't mean anything, I think, to a lot of people of this town who don't have to deal with it, who are within a mile or two of the landfill. When the wind is blowing a certain way, you know it will just gag you.”

Jonathan Leibovic of the Toxics Action Center told 22News, “Part of why South Hadley landfill was selected it's because it's part of Advanced Waste Systems which operates landfills all across the country and has a record of violations.”

Over the past year there have been more than 75 confirmed odor complaints. Operators have been fined thousands by the state for failing to control pollutants.

Recently, the town's conservation commission approved boundaries for the proposed landfill expansion.