On May 13, 2024, Saugus Town Meeting voted unanimously in favor of Article 25, to establish a closure committee for the WIN Waste Saugus ash landfill. With full support of Town Meeting members, during a roll-call vote, the formation of this committee sends a resounding message that Saugus supports the imminent closure of the landfill and to explore new uses of the land that will neither burden the public health nor the environment.
The closure of the landfill has been expected for a long time. Originally, it was a municipal landfill beginning in the 1940s. When the incinerator was built in the 1970s, the facility began dumping ash on top of the trash. The ash landfill was not meant to be a permanent solution and was originally slated to close in 1996. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has approved multiple expansions of the landfill over the years under a consent decree. It is a dangerous landfill since it is unlined and located in a tidal salt marsh.
Given its location in an area of critical environmental concern, the state has made it clear in multiple letters that WIN Waste will not be able to expand past its current permit of 50 feet. Still, WIN Waste has made it clear that it intends to expand its landfill for at least another 20 years, possibly reaching a height of 100 feet. If approved, this would be the tallest structure in Saugus. Currently, WIN Waste is shipping half of its ash each day to a landfill in Shrewsbury in order to give itself more time to lobby for further expansion.
We applaud Saugus Town Meeting for the creation of this closure committee. In addition, we hope that WIN Waste will participate as a non-voting member in order to work for the best interest of the health and environment of Saugus and surrounding communities.
Reacting to the vote, Mary Kinsell, of Saugus, said, “I’m so glad the article passed, and I’m grateful to all the Town Meeting members that I called for voting yes. It feels good to know that our elected leaders hear and share our concerns for health and safety.”
Debra Panetta, president of the Saugus River Watershed Council, stated, “I am thankful to Town Meeting for voting favorably on this article. It is important that we discuss the closure of this landfill and have a remediation plan in place. Knowing that both the Baker and Healey administrations have said ‘no’ to expansion to this landfill and knowing that WIN Waste is shipping out 50% of their daily ash to Shrewsbury, it is just a matter of time before the landfill has to close. We need to be prepared.”
“Saugus town government has the authority related to the landfill, but the problem affects all the surrounding communities. As a Lynn resident, I am especially concerned with the leachate from the ash dump getting sent to the Lynn water treatment facility, and then dumped into Lynn Harbor,” Evan Smith, of Lynn, said.
Loretta LaCentra, of Revere, stated, “The City of Revere has long been impacted environmentally and health-wise by this unlined, dangerous incinerator ash landfill. I applaud and thank the Saugus Town Meeting members who voted unanimously to form a landfill closure committee. I look forward to the development of this committee as they work towards an orderly and timely closure of the Saugus WIN Waste ash landfill.”
This article was submitted by the Alliance for Health and Environment.
