While there are a few rail spurs permitted to transfer waste on Long Island, none are currently permitted or equipped to transfer incinerator ash waste. Other rail spur projects are being proposed, but they are just that – a proposal. Like Townline Rail Terminal they are all in the beginnings of their project planning and will face all the same challenges before they are approved and ready for development.

This waste is our waste. It is only fair to do what we can within our community to process our waste as best as possible. While this plan still requires us to pass our burden onto other communities that still accept these materials in landfills, we should at the very least choose a more ecological and economical method as we send it to someone else’s backyard rather than ours.