Letter to the Editor: Why We Need Landfills for a Healthy Environment
In response to Betty Myers’ letter in the Herald on January 22, I want to clarify some points about waste management. Ms. Myers raises questions about the long wait for permits related to landfills. It’s important to remember that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in 1970, and it took six years before we had the Resource Conservation Recovery Act in 1976. This act was crucial for regulating landfills and protecting our environment.
Many people express concerns about the proposed landfill, but I haven’t heard anyone from the Cumberland County Landfill Alert (CCLA) group suggest an alternative for the approximately 4.9 pounds of waste each person in the U.S. produces daily, according to EPA statistics.
Having grown up on a farm, I remember how in the past, old batteries, oil cans, and tires used to be carelessly discarded in gullies, posing a hazard to our water supply. Do we really want to return to those days? A regulated landfill means we have a safe place for waste, which is monitored continuously. If anything goes wrong, it can be addressed quickly. Without these facilities, our natural spaces would fill up with trash once again.
Ms. Myers speaks about protecting the environment. The best way to do that is to manage waste responsibly.
Gene Brooks
Cumberland
