Proposal to expand Northampton County landfill gets criticized
Residents say it’s made nearby roads a ‘pigsty’
Some Plainfield Township residents blasted a plan to expand the Grand Central Sanitary Landfill in their Northampton County community, complaining about odors, increased traffic and noise concerns.
But representatives of Grand Central, whose corporate parent owns the landfill, gave no indication the company would end or pull back efforts to have 211 of 325 acres in the township rezoned for a planned expansion of the waste dump.
Residents who gathered Tuesday evening at the Plainfield Township Volunteer Fire Company hall expressed their objections to the expansion plan, which Grand Central officials proposed in early 2020. It would rezone the land from farmland and forest to solid waste processing and disposal.
The rezoning would be part of an overall 325 acres added to the 110-acre property. The land, bordering Pen Argyl and Delabole roads, would include about 80 acres for waste disposal, 52 acres for “support activities,” and 192 acres of wooded and wetland buffer.
Grand Central representatives cited population increases in the Lehigh Valley, a lack of air space for landfills, increased affordable waste options, and environmental impact reduction as reasons for the expansion.
Resident Jeff Berger, complained about odors, “pigsty” roads, increased truck traffic and noise disturbances from the existing landfill, and he feared an expansion would only increase those nuisances.
“Honestly, I lived in this area for over 30 years. I can’t even go down to the landfill entrance in my car because it looks like a pigsty going down here,” Berger said. “When honestly, I know that you have the ability to clean the roads. I’ve seen it demonstrated before, but it’s not robust and it’s not done enough times.”
Millie Beahn, another resident, said she — like many others in the community — hopes the landfill will close as scheduled in 2028, as opposed to any expansion of the site.
“I know that many other community members will agree with me when I say I want this landfill to close in its allotted six years,” Beahn said. “We’ve had enough in this area; I can’t even leave church without smelling trash and you can’t even see anything but trash anymore, and now you’re saying you want to expand, and that is just simply unacceptable.”
Grand Central representatives said they do their best to maintain the conditions of the road and have received very few complaints about traffic or road conditions.
Landfill representatives made no statement on whether they will consider amendments to their plan in order to address the residents’ concerns. A formal submission to the township is not expected until later this year.
The landfill, which is part of giant waste-hauling company Waste Management Inc., employs about 200 people. Publicly
held Waste Management acquired Grand Central more than 20 years ago.
In existence since 1951, Grand Central is one of three landfills in Northampton County; Chrin in Williams Township and Bethlehem, which is in Lower Saucon Township, are the others. There are no landfills in Lehigh County.