Rebuffed Trash Train Returns to New York
Nearly a month after 2,200 tons of New York City garbage left for a Midwest dump, the oft-rejected load returned Friday, having chugged about 3,000 miles to reach a resting place 20 miles from home.
The garbage, which originated in the South Bronx, arrived in Kearny, N. J., on 30 flatbed rail cars and was to be taken by truck to Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island.
The 26-day trip included stops in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri. Each time the train was turned away. Judges ordered it out of Fairmont City, Ill.; Kansas City, Kan., and Streator, Ill.
“There was leachate coming out of it. There was also insect disease carrying flies and odor problems and that created a public health risk,” said Dan Shomon, spokesman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
In New Jersey, workers used vehicles with hydraulic arms to lift the trash--which was packed in 40-ton steel containers with tarps on top--onto trucks for transport to Fresh Kills, the world’s largest municipal landfill.
By the end of the line, the load--from restaurants, groceries and small stores--did not smell and there were no flies to be seen.
“It’s all dried and it’s mummified,” said Conrail spokesman Chris Wagner. “It’s coming back clean as a whistle.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
