Residents of South Hadley are protesting a garbage landfill in their town. South Hadley borders Amherst and Holyoke. The landfill is run by a corporation that’s based in Florida. Advanced Disposal Corporation (AD) of Jacksonville, Florida had $351 million in sales last year.
On January 24, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said AD violated the law at the South Hadley dump. The company has been landfilling material that should be recycled. AD makes money by the ton for landfilling, not for recycling.
In November, residents of South Hadley held a rally across the street from the landfill on Industrial Drive. AD dumps about 600 tons of garbage at the South Hadley landfill every day except Sunday. Bob Flaherty lives in South Hadley. He attended the rally because he wants the company to do something to reduce the bad smell of the dump.
Mohinder Grewal lives in the nearest house to the dump. “I have a problem with the smell, the noise and the dust,” she told the Hampshire Gazette newspaper. “If I have company, it’s so embarrassing to me. I can’t have a cookout in the summer.”
An environmental group which has a web site at www.ToxicsAction.org says the South Hadley landfill is one of the worst sources of pollution in New England. A staff person from the group attended the rally.
AD did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article. The Valley Post will publish AD’s comment if and when the company provides one.
The Sierra Club is working toward the goal of closing all landfills and incinerators. It has a web site about this effort at:
South Hadley Resident
What a great article! I am another South Hadley resident who has been affected by the Landfill and have suddenly been learning the world of town politics. What an eye opening and disturbing reality. $$$$ is what it's all about. Thanks for the coverage. The more people that know in the extended community, the better. The more we ALL ban together and oppose the inhumanity of it all, the more power we have as residents.
Another Advanced Disposal Landfill
I have been interested in the violations and media exposure surrounding the So. Hadley Landfill because I live near the Moretown Landfill in Vermont that is owned and operated by AD as well. There have been ongoing issues for years, but in the last year and a half plus we've had unbearable odors as well. AD acquired the landfill from IWS 9.1.12. They are running a strong PR campaign and have invested in the infrastructure for the gas collection system, but we have not yet seen improvements. They have more work to do and are telling us that they will have things under control. Mike DiMaggio has been hired here as the temporary GM and they have blamed the previous management for all the problems.
It doesn't seem from what is going on in So. Hadley that there is much hope that AD will deliver here in VT.
S. Hadley Dump
I am one of the residents of S. Hadley who protested. I encourage residents of Moretown to do the same. This protest has gained us a lot of attention and I feel we are one step closer to having it closed, as it should be.
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