In 2012, despite documented concerns of Rensselaer and East Greenbush residents, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) permitted the Dunn Landfill to open its 99-acre site next door to a Pre-K thru 12 public school housing over 1,100 students and hundreds of teachers and staff. This massive operation is also located in the middle of residential neighborhoods in Rensselaer and East Greenbush.

This preposterous decision allows up to 100 noisy, long-haul tractor trailer trucks per day, each weighing up to 117,000 pounds, to bring construction debris from seven states through the heart of residential neighborhoods and dump it next to a school. Hydrogen sulfide odors (rotten egg smell) from rotting wallboard, diesel exhaust, loud noise and dust constantly impact the quality of life and threaten the health of residents. Emissions from landfills like Dunn not only produce odor problems, but also can result in major health impacts in the surrounding community, including nausea, vomiting, respiratory problems, depression, stress, and personality changes.

Since this decision, Waste Connections, a Texas-based corporation who bought out Dunn, has made political donations to the Rensselaer Democratic Party and Assemblyman John McDonald. To make matters worse, Rensselaer Environmental Coalition discovered that the school board agreed to accept $125,000 a year from this giant corporation to supplement the school’s budget. Waste Connections recently contributed $10,000 to the school sports program and has offered to match donations up to $75,000 for the school sports program. This C&D operation is doing everything it can to guarantee it will be here for years as it has the acreage to operate until at least 2036.