The Black Library will host an emergency town hall meeting to discuss Sullivan County’s trash incinerator proposal on Monday, September 29 at 6 p.m.
Like most counties across New York, Sullivan has a trash problem—and some decision makers think an incinerator is the solution.
The county is soliciting bids from companies that build and operate trash incinerators, which are marketed as “waste to energy” facilities. Since Sullivan doesn’t produce enough trash of its own to support an incinerator, legislators propose importing waste from neighboring counties.
Burning waste from across the region would generate revenue for the county. But community members are concerned about the public health impacts of having an incinerator as a neighbor. “Even an incinerator equipped with the latest pollution control technology would spew toxic emissions that affect everyone in the county and beyond,” says Eric Feinblatt, co-founder of Sustainable Sullivan, a new environmental group formed earlier this year. “We all breathe the same air.”
Incinerators present financial risks, too. Detroit and Harrisburg are among the municipalities that have been forced to file for bankruptcy over incinerator-related debt.
Speakers at the town hall will include Alasha Santiago of the Sullivan County NAACP; Cat Scott, Sullivan County legislator for District 5; Dr. Steven Goldstein, a pediatrician and professor of pediatrics at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell; and Mike Ewall of Energy Justice Network, who has spent his career fighting trash incinerators.
During the evening, community members will be invited to reflect on the downside risks of an incinerator and to explore alternative approaches to managing our waste.
The Black Library, the Sullivan County NAACP, and Sustainable Sullivan are co-sponsoring the event.
The Black Library is located at 418 Broadway in Monticello. For more information, contact Eric Feinblatt at eric@sustainablesullivan.org.
Sustainable Sullivan
Sullivan County, NY

Editor's note: According to Rebekah Creshkoff, co-founder of Sustainable Sullivan, "will be speaking as a pediatrician in private practice with extensive experience in environmental health issues and advocacy, not as a representative of any institution."