Presently, trucks carrying ash from the local Waste-to-Energy facility must travel approximately 7 miles – most of which is alongside residential areas – just to reach the Long Island Expressway for their trip to the Brookhaven Landfill. With Townline Rail, this trip would be reduced to about half a mile through commercial, non-residential areas.
It’s time to talk trash.
Compared to the average American, a typical Long Island resident recycles less and produces more garbage.
After we put it to the curb, our trash leaves our homes, but do we ever think about where it goes after that? Unfortunately, it does not magically disappear.
Currently, 70% of the trash we generate in the Huntington and Smithtown communities is incinerated at our local Waste to-Energy facility in Huntington and then disposed of as ash at the Brookhaven Landfill.
But change is coming.
Within the next few years, Brookhaven Landfill is planned to permanently close.
With no other landfill alternatives on Long Island,
our community will have to transition to moving almost all of our ash, waste and construction debris off Long Island.
Trucking is not a sustainable solution.
It creates additional traffic on our highways, strains our infrastructure, contributes to pollution – and will dramatically increase disposal costs that we the taxpayers pay.
As we reach a critical point, alternative options need to be considered.
At this critical point, we’re proposing an alternative.
Rail transportation is economically, environmentally and logistically a more efficient alternative to trucking materials off Long Island.
The Town of Smithtown and Suffolk County have long recognized that rail is a better option than trucking. Now is the time to follow that recommendation. Doing so will result in reduced emissions and traffic congestion by eliminating tens of thousands of long-haul truck trips off Long Island.
Townline Rail Terminal will provide sustainable and cost competitive transportation alternatives for local businesses to harness, protecting the existing tax base and minimizing the impact of future local growth.
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Transport via trucks will be drastically shortened.
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One railcar will eliminate approximately four truckloads of materials on our roads.
Approximately 80,000 tons of ash are generated each year at our local Waste-to-Energy facility, currently resulting in nearly 4,500 truck trips to the landfill. Once Brookhaven is closed, these trucks would have to travel through and off Long Island. One railcar can hold the same amount of ash as four trucks.
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Less stress on Long Island’s only remaining C&D landfill.
Townline Rail will also be able to transport Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste by rail to landfills off Long Island. As per New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, C&D material is uncontaminated solid waste resulting from construction, remodeling, demolition, repair and land clearing – and does not include hazardous materials such as asbestos.
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Townline Rail Terminal is designed to handle only the disposal needs of Huntington and Smithtown.
The local Waste-To-Energy facility operates close to or at capacity incinerating the waste collected in Huntington and Smithtown. Townline Rail Terminal is proposed to match this capacity and will not be a solution to handle all of Long Island’s ash and debris.
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Expected increase in tax revenue and jobs for the local community.
Trucking all ash generated at the local Waste-to-Energy facility off Long Island would be costly to the taxpayers of both towns. Rail transportation, a cleaner and more economical method, would help save taxpayer money. An increase in local jobs both during and after construction can also be expected.
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Ash byproducts will be enclosed in steel railcar containers.
After the half mile transport via truck to Townline Rail Terminal – passing no residential homes – ash will be transferred into railcar containers, enclosed and secured. All loading and unloading of incinerated ash will occur inside the facility, minimizing dust and noise. The transfer station will be equipped with dust suppression, negative air system filtration and high-speed roll up doors.
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A more efficient round trip.
Townline Rail Terminal will facilitate the import of aggregates, equipment and lumber which is currently trucked into businesses in the Kings Park industrial corridor. This will make the return trip of the empty waste railcars more efficient, and further reduce truck traffic in our region. These materials would serve businesses within 2 miles of the Terminal, within the local industrial complex.
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Less trucks on local roads.
With a half mile trip between the local Waste-to-Energy facility and Townline Rail Terminal along commercial, non-residential roads, fewer trucks will be on Long Island’s highway, reducing traffic congestion and emissions.
Related News
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Federal board approves Kings Park rail yard proposal
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With environmental review over, federal board can vote on Kings Park rail proposal
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Brookhaven landfill closure likely to drive up costs, congestion on Long Island, experts say
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Further Information
Get answers to frequently asked questions or concerns about the Townline Rail Terminal project.
Learn more about the Carlson family history of construction and manufacturing in Kings Park and on Long Island.
View and download documents related to Townline Rail Terminal or about Long Island Waste Management.
Visit the Town of Smithtown website to view their Questions & Answers page for Townline Rail Terminal.