Town Board discusses landfill and tourism grants

Town of Lansing officials have chimed in on one of the biggest questions affecting Tompkins County’s future: What will happen to refuse generated in the county if Seneca Meadows shuts down?

Seneca Meadows is located in Waterloo, NY and is one of the landfills that Tompkins County’s waste goes to. 

Conversations surrounding the closure of the landfill, the largest in the state, have reached the Tompkins County Legislature. Legislature Republican Minority Leader Mike Sigler, R-Lansing, addressed town board members in late July, commenting on the legislature’s decision to vote on a resolution that calls for the closure of Seneca Meadows. 

“I don’t think anyone likes the amount of trash produced or the reality that we have

landfills, but we do produce trash and need landfills,” Sigler said. He noted that, while Tompkins County doesn’t send its more than 100 million pounds of trash generated annually to Seneca Meadows, the landfill had become a tangible solution to the county’s expiring trash haulers contract, set to end in two years. Seneca Meadows takes in refuse from counties and cities in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“If Seneca closes, I only see a few alternatives,” Sigler noted. One of which, he said, could be operating an in-county landfill. Neighboring counties such as Cortland already do that but are facing issues with the viable lifecycle of their landfills.

“I can’t imagine that measure would have support,” Sigler said. 

Another alternative is to use trash to generate energy by burning it. A New York Times article from 2018 shows low-carbon-friendly countries such as Sweden already use refuse to power homes and transportation. At the time, Sweden had 34 “waste-to-energy” power plants, where four tons of garbage are considered to be energy-equivalent to one ton of oil, 1.6 tons of coal or five tons of food waste. The article also suggests that less than 1% of household waste goes into landfills. About 49% of trash generated is recycled, and the other half is incinerated to power public and private infrastructure.

“I have seen a few calls for a system like that,” Sigler said. The other option, he noted, would be to send it to more distant landfills.

“Getting it there would boost our carbon footprint,” Sigler said.

Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne said that the situation is deeply concerning to him.

“What are you going to do with it?” he asked. “This is going to be a huge problem. I feel bad because we are going to run out of space. To generate this into fuel, it would be remarkable. We are not going to stop producing junk. I don’t know what the answer is, but there has got to be some compromise down the road.”

Town Board member Joseph Wetmore said that burning trash to generate power would not make the refuse issue go away entirely. Wetmore noted that even after burning trash, there is a remaining product that still requires disposal. 

“That is much more toxic than when you started,” Wetmore said.

The legislature ultimately approved a resolution opposing the increase of Seneca Meadow’s height and lifespan. Legislature Chair Shawna Black, D-Town of Ithaca, who was absent for the July meeting when the resolution was initially brought on, said she was in full support of the resolution. If additional permits are not approved at the state level, the landfill will close in 2025.

Tourism grants

At the July meeting, Sigler also brought on the subject of the county’s tourism grants. The pool of funds that municipalities around Tompkins County can apply for is around $400,000. The town of Lansing has until Aug. 31 to apply for one of the following grants:

Community Celebrations Grant

The grant provides up to $2,500 and can be used to establish a cultural festival, a neighborhood gathering, a sports tournament or anything else that showcases the community’s spirit and values.

Tourism Advancement Grants 

This grant funds projects and marketing campaigns that attract visitors to Tompkins County for overnight stays. The allocation could fund product development and marketing expenses, including advertising, signage, website development, performances and event planning.

Tourism Capital Grants

This grant program supports major investments in visitor-generating projects such as theaters, museums and other major cultural and recreational attractions. The funds can be used for design, renovation and new building projects; investments in unique permanent installations such as exhibits; and feasibility studies of potential capital projects.

Applications are sent to Ithaca Area Economic Development for a preapplication consultation. 

The Lansing town board is set to meet for its August meeting on Aug.16. 

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on Twitter @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

The Music in the Park concert series at Myers Park continues Thursday, Aug. 10, as classic rock outfit Bad Alibi takes the stage. According to the band’s website,  Bad Alibi plays complex renditions of classic rock hits with thundering bass lines and raucous drums. The concert starts at 6:30 p.m.