The Dunn C&D Landfill, owned by Texas-based Waste Connections, is the largest of its kind in NYS. This gigantic 99-acre industrial operation is located near residential neighborhoods in both Rensselaer and East Greenbush, and is immediately adjacent to the Rensselaer City School District Campus, where over 1,000 students and hundreds of teachers and other staff learn and work. No other landfill in NYS is located next to a school.

Since the landfill began operations in 2015, the residents of Rensselaer have been subjected to the rotten egg odors caused by hydrogen sulfide gas released from rotting drywall in the landfill. Dust from the dump frequently envelopes the school and surrounding homes. Each weekday, beginning around 6:40 AM, dozens of long-haul tractor trailer trucks coming from seven states roar up through residential areas of Rensselaer on their way to and from the dump, disturbing residents and exposing them to dust, loud noise, and diesel exhaust.

The landfill has the acreage capacity to continue through 2036- another 11 years and further expansion cannot be ruled out.