Jump to content

Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group (BLARG)
Formation2020
FounderHannah Thomas, Dennis Nix, Monique Fitzgerald
Location
Key people
Abena Asare, Kerim Odekon, and Michelle Mendez
Websitehttps://www.landfillaction.org/

The Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group (BLARG) is a grassroots environmental justice organization seeking to close and clean up the 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]

North Bellport is a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood with the lowest life expectancy on Long Island, and the second-highest rate of asthma in Suffolk County.[1][4] Anually, about 720,000 tons of construction and demolition waste and about 350,000 tons of incinerator ash from across Long Island are dumped into the Brookhaven Landfill, regarded by some as the main reason for the negative health impacts in the community.[5]

History

[edit]

BLARG was co-founded by several North Bellport community members, including Hannah Thomas, Dennis Nix, and Monique Fitzgerald.[6] The group was officially established in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, emphasizing the need to identify systemic issues contributing to the premature deaths of Black individuals.[6]

Projects

[edit]

In 2021, BLARG helped stop the expansion of Brookhaven Landfill.[7][8]

In summer 2021, BLARG collaborated with local members to transport food waste by bicycle to community composting facilities and applied compost education initiatives within its own Long Island community.[9]

In 2022, BLARG started its own successful Community Composting Collective and diverted tons of organic waste from Brookhaven Landfill, preventing significant amounts of methane gas from being generated and released into the atmosphere.[7][9]

In 2023, BLARG advocated for State Attorney General Letitia James to investigate Covanta Hempstead, a waste-to-energy plant owned by Covanta, to check whether the ash they deposited into Brookhaven Landfill was hazardous. [10] This prompted a multi-year investigation of Covanta Hempstead by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Who is BLARG?". BLARG. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  7. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "General 5". BLARG. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  10. ^ "Brookhaven landfill critics call for attorney general to probe ash disposal". Newsday. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
Retrieved from "http://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Brookhaven_Landfill_Action_and_Remediation_Group&oldid=1276909810"