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Keyword search: solid waste

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

A pizza box, a bag of chips and a soda can all have one thing in common – the “recycle” symbol printed on their packaging asking customers not to throw them away in the trash.But the reality is that dropping off these items at your local transfer...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Every time Jolene Cochrane clocks in for her shift at the Hopkinton Transfer Station, she sees residents driving in with their household waste bagged in various colored trash bags.With 19 years of experience at the station — a few years longer than...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

As testimony on bills targeting landfill safety in New Hampshire continues in both chambers of the legislature, the state Department of Environmental Services maintains its stance against proposed legislation advocating for a four-year moratorium of...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Rochester is home to the largest landfill in New England, the Turnkey landfill, where more than half of the waste comes from out-of-state rather than from within New Hampshire.In 2023, the Turnkey landfill took in over 595,000 tons of out-of-state...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Owen Lanman and his friends stood guard near the color-coded bins in Maple Street school’s cafeteria, ensuring every student dumped their lunch leftovers into the appropriate receptacles designated for compost, recycling and landfill.“I like doing it...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Two bills addressing the import of out-of-state trash are heading to the House of Representatives with a positive recommendation, offering a solution toward alleviating the strain on the state’s landfill capacity.New Hampshire receives nearly half of...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Tom Tower found the decision to privatize solid waste management in New Hampshire decades ago to be a logical choice. However, with the state’s sluggish pace in updating its plan to deal with its trash and the alarming influx of waste from neighboring...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

The public might get a better understanding of what exactly is getting dumped in the state’s landfills and where it’s coming from, now that the Department of Environmental Services has initiated the first comprehensive study of the waste stream.Set to...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

New Hampshire has become a dumping ground for out-of-state trash.But that could change during the upcoming legislative session as lawmakers try to slam the brakes on trucks bringing waste from beyond state borders.One bill takes on the Interstate...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Growing concerns over landfill siting and state regulations became a focal point in communities around the state and in the legislature as more people learned about New Hampshire’s status as a dumping ground for out-of-state trash.The catalyst for...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Proposed changes to the state’s environmental protection rules would increase the setbacks for landfills to be located no less than 500 feet from bodies of water, more than double the current 200-foot barrier. The Department of Environmental Services...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

The cost of cleaning up the PFAS-contaminated sludge at the Hopkinton-Webster transfer station and potentially relocating it off-site could cost the towns $13.8 million. The 52,000 tons of sludge containing “forever” chemicals at the transfer station...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Jacquelyn Elliot, a former Granite Stater now residing in Maine, is worried the state’s environmental agency is prioritizing private economic gain over public safety.“Waste is managed as a commodity which drives profits and incentivizes...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

In response to concerns from residents and state officials about the proposed expansion of the Turnkey Landfill in Rochester, the state Department of Environmental Services will hold a public hearing to discuss the plan’s potential impacts on both...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Sludge in septic lagoons accumulated over the years at Hopkinton’s transfer station has been identified as containing “forever” chemicals, and the town is working on a plan to resolve the issue. The movement comes after the Department of Environmental...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

For Cheryl Jensen, issues related to landfills hit close to home. She lives in the town of Bethlehem, home to the North Country Environmental Services landfill, which serves as the dumping ground for waste from across the state and some that is...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Faced with more than a dozen bills related to solid waste during this year’s legislative session, lawmakers passed only two after six months of public hearings, debates and committee sessions.One bill introduces additional requirements for background...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

After six months of heated debate over a bill aimed at revising landfill siting regulations, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to kill the bill, maintaining the responsibility of strengthening the state’s landfill regulations within the...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

As the legislative session approaches its end, a bill focusing on landfill setbacks is facing growing discontent following the public release of email exchanges between the state’s Department of Environmental Services and representatives of Casella, a...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Sherri Cheney was awed by the sight of towering mounds of food scraps mixed with ground-up wood chips from demolition debris, reaching a height of at least 7 feet at Lebanon's Transfer Station. These piles of waste were being converted into...

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

As New Hampshire grapples with the mounting challenge of solid waste management and disposal, private waste management companies have stepped up their lobbying efforts.With a slew of bills introduced in this year’s legislative session aimed at...