Places other than Norlite could accept liquid waste

In his letter “Norlite a ‘winwin-win’ for the environment,” Aug. 11, Jeff Beswick, CEO of Tradebe USA, owner of Norlite in Cohoes, states readers and Cohoes’ residents “deserve a more complete picture” about Norlite.

He cites the 70 jobs supported by Norlite and says that the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s rules and oversight are strict. He also states “activists have not presented a single fact to support their false claims .... ” So, as a reader, I expected Beswick’s letter would enlighten me and the people of Cohoes and present “facts.”

Unfortunately, Beswick raises the false boogeyman of “liquid hazardous waste” ending up in landfills if not for theincineration at Norlite. Of course, many readers would interpret “landfills” to be one of our region’s municipal landfills. It is astounding that the CEO of the USA operations of an international hazardous waste management firm thinks that such materials would end up in a landfill. The disposal of hazardous liquid wastes in either municipal or hazardous waste landfills has been banned in the United States for at least 40 years and hazardous wastes are tracked from cradle to grave so their fate is well-documented.

Is Beswick ignorant of this or just disingenuous in his arguments? If such wastes are not incinerated at Norlite in Cohoes, they would be accepted at several of the other Norlite facilities in the United States or those of their competitors.

Sticking to facts would bolster his credibility as a representative of Tradebe.

Bruce Nelson

Altamont