For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
This morning a fire at the Monmouth County Landfill broke out in one of the buildings. Plumes of smoke funneled out of the building as fire crews battle to put out the fire. This is just days after a town council meeting on the horrible odors coming from the landfill. The administrators uncapped 11-acres of the landfill to control leachate due to a heavy rain season last year.
“We are very concerned about the fire that has broken out at the Tinton Fall landfill. We hope the fire gets put out quickly and that no one is harmed. The DEP and Health Department should also be monitoring the air quality to make sure the air is clean for Tinton Fall residents,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Whenever there is a fire at a landfill, there could be harmful chemicals that can be released into the air. It should be up to DEP to determine if the air is safe.”
The Monmouth County Reclamation Center has been emitting extremely foul odors lately that have angered more than 300 residents who came to a county public meeting last week. The blame is on the administrator’s decision to uncover 11 acres of previously capped trash to contain the leachate from all of the rain this past year.
“The fire today is an indicator that something is really going on here. The residents of Tinton Falls are dealing with the foul smell coming from the Monmouth County Landfill. The failure to adequately cap has caused a big stink in Tinton Falls. The heavy rain and not having a tight enough cap caused leachate to get out and can cause a terrible health hazard. The cap has caused a massive odor problem among the Tinton Fall community and the leachate can get into streams and groundwater,” said Tittel. “DEP can cover the landfill with vinyl and put in air scrubbers temporarily to hold in the smells until DEP installs a proper cap. DEP should also require monitoring of air pollution control devices and leachate monitoring wells.”
DEP officials at the county meeting proposed solutions for the smell such as installing more gas collection wells, apply more odor neutralizers, and possibly moving landfill operations further away from residences. Tinton Fall residents could experience the same toxic nightmare as Roxbury residents did near the Fenimore landfill if the site is not cleaned up properly.
“The fire at Tinton Falls landfill is another reason why feel something is wrong. First there’s the unbearable smell, then the failing cap, and now this. The town and state officials need to work together to make sure the fire has not contaminated the air. They also need to properly contain the smell and fix the cap or else we are going to see another Fenimore disaster,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “There should be a thorough investigation done by the DEP. There is a foul smell and its not just from the landfill.”