All aboard: Grand Central invites public to take bus tour of its Plainfield Township landfill | Lehigh Valley Regional News

PLAINFIELD TWP., Pa. – All aboard! Grand Central Landfill is planning a bus tour of its Plainfield Township waste facility.

“An event for all ages – bring the family!” the landfill says in its invitation for the event on Aug. 22.

Waste Management Inc., which owns the landfill, has been making a pitch for a zoning change to expand the facility by 325 acres. That would extend the useful life of the facility by about 20 years. Otherwise, it will be closed in 2028, and that means millions of dollars in host fees and taxes would stop flowing to Plainfield, neighboring towns and school districts.

Plainfield Township so far has not gone along with the plan, and some residents have complained about their homes being a trash haven for the region.

The “Tour du Trash,” so to speak, will show how the landfill is managed to protect the environment and generate electricity, according to an invitation from Waste Management. Anyone who wishes to attend should register by Aug. 15 by email to [email protected] or call 1-888-373-2917.

Last week, Waste Management’s Scott Perin said a trash disposal problem is coming to the Lehigh Valley.

“There is a very big waste crisis that’s starting in the New England area and moving down the East Coast,” Perin, area director of disposal operations, told a Northampton County Council committee.

The local population is growing, he said, and the stuff people throw away has to go somewhere.

Waste Management’s operations in Plainfield support 126 jobs directly, in addition to the millions of dollars generated for towns, schools and charities, according to Adrienne Fors, senior community relations specialist for the company.

In Plainfield, the host of $2.2 million is equivalent to $1,042 per household, according to Waste Management. If the landfill closes, that will drop to zero.

Grand Central explains proposal to expand landfill operations in Plainfield Township

The tour is an opportunity to see how a modern landfill operates, Fors said at the council meeting last week.

“Landfills are more than just a big hole in the ground,” she said.

The Aug. 22 tour will start at 5:30 p.m. at 910 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Pen Argyl. Registration is required by Aug. 15.

Houston-based Waste Management trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WM. Its shares closed Friday at $155.48. The company’s market capitalization (the total value of all shares outstanding) is $64.6 billion.

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