To the editor:
I’m writing to express my concern over Article 34, which Saugus will vote on at the May 4 Town Meeting. Article 34 proposes that WIN Waste can double the height of the unlined ash landfill from 50 feet to 100 feet.
Incinerator ash contains toxic substances — lead, arsenic, mercury — and fine particles that degrade air quality and threaten public health. The proposed height increase will risk more windblown dust and runoff into the Saugus River. Those impacts won’t stay confined to Saugus. Pollution spreads. Communities like Lynn and Revere will feel the consequences.
Access to clean air shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code or whether your city signed an agreement. It’s a fundamental human right.
The status quo of waste management is not sustainable and is killing us. Let’s take this moment to say no to WIN Waste’s ash landfill expansion and demand investment in composting, recycling, and waste reduction.
Sincerely,
Heather MacLeod
Lynn
