\' - .............. -,~ -1/01)93 4509 8M BETH PUBLIC LIBRARY 4~1 DEI_AWARE AVE riEL MAR NY 12054 - , '":" .. Vol. XXXVI No. 21 The Selkirk residents debate waste options By Susan Wheeler The municipal waste is first shredded, Many Selkirk residents are still debat· then either burned or stored for future ing the best solid waste management op­ use at the incinerator, reducing the need tion for Bethlehem. for a large landfill for raw waste. The group of about 60 listened last Joseph Rappazzo of Glenmont prefers Thursday while Commissioner of Public incineration over landfilling. He has fu;st· ,Works Bruce Secor, chairman of hand experience in solid waste manage­ Bethlehem's Solid Waste Task Force, out· ment, having worked at the ANSWERS lined the town's three solid waste manage­ facility on Rapp Road and a construction ment options as recommended by the and demolition debris landfill in the area. task force. The meeting was held at the He said both landfilling and incineration Selkirk firehouse on Route 396. have negative health effects, but "burn plants destroy bacteria and diseases" that The first two options are: construction may be in the raw materials. of a waste-to-energy incinerator by En­ ergy AnswersCorporationonBethlehem's Donald Wilsey of Selkirk agreed all Cabbage Island, and re-initiatiogtalks with options have negative health iropacts, but neighboring municipalities about devel· asked, "Don't you think incineration is the oping an integrated solid waste manage­ way togo?" ment system. The third option, hauling Secor said if residents say they think Bethlehem's waste out of town, was pre­ incineration is the best option by a yes sented as ,an "alternate option." vote in the June 18 referendum, then the Secor fielded questions about the o!>, state's environmental quality testing will tions, and responded to residents' con· help answer that question. cerns on the ANSWERS Wasteshed re­ While some residents declined com· port, released last year, that identified' ment until they had more information on nine sites in Bethlehem and three in the options, others said they could be Coeymans for a potential regional landfill. easily persuaded to support either incin, Of the Bethlehem sites, four were in the eration or landfilling if given solid facts. Selkirk area. ~~.....,-- .. "I'm open-minded on all of it, if it's Thomas Julien, EAC project manager, proven to me,' said SelkirkresidentN orrna said the corporation withdrew its proposal L.June. By Susan Graves to site a construction and demolition de­ Susan Demarest of Selkirk is doing TheAlbany County Health Depart. bris landfill on Bask Road in Bethlehem what she can to learn about the solid ment and the Capital District Veteri· from the state Departroent of Environ· waste management options facing the town nary Society have scheduled anum· mental Conservation. In addition, he said before voting on the question of incinera· 'the waste-to-energy facility proposed for tion in Bethlehem. She said she does not ber of rabies iromunizationc1inics for the town should eliminate the need for the dogs and cats in anticipation of an regional landfill being sited by ANSWERS. o DEBATE/Page 26 Managing waste: A multiple choice question How incinerators stack up .Landfills likely to have niche By Michael Dell:asi smokers' in the United States as the pre­ By Susan Graves years to get through the clay, where it On the scorecard of how to deal with ferred method of getting rid of waste duro Whether you're for or against landfills, would then move to another system layer, solid waste, incinerators generally fall ingthe 1950sand 60s, Japan and countries either in or out of your backyard, they he explained. "The lines of defense are below recycling and reduction, but above in Europe, which have less space avail· most likely will be a part of the solid waste pretty safe." landfilling. Aw" - ~'" ~":':"""''': ~ "",~",.-- ~-",~",~,,,,_~ -""=""""'Y''''';S'''--- '" solution. That's according to Marjorie Clarke, ,Thet~effectso(the" ",l "Landfills are going to be with us a an environmental consultant based in New emissions aren't nearly as while," said Dr. Thomas Ziromie, profes­ York City, and the Cornell Waste Manage­ sor of civil and environmental engineer· ment Institute, part of the Center for Envi· dangerous as livi1J11 with I ing at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in ronmental Research at Cornell Univer· sonreonewho Troy. And, although "Landfills got bad sity. smokes' cigarettes. names when they were dumps and not ,Plastic liners used in the landfills are First invented at the turn of the cen· I properly covered," new state-of·the·art , from 60 to 100 milliroeters thick. Further tury, incinerators used to be places where Dr. Donald Drum systems are safe. "The level of safety is lines of defense include monitor wells, trash was taken arid burned indiscrimi· fantastic." and "If a monitor well goes wrong, there nately, with very few of the pollution con· able for landfills, continued to develop , The new landfills are very complex must be a contiogency plan." trois that exist today. incinerator technology, Gouldin said. structures and include two plastic and two Because landfills are covered every "Old smokers' is the way Dr. Fred clay liners. "It's like a Dagwood sand· day, odors are controlled. At the Fulton "What developed was the modern wich," he said. "If it breaks through the Gouldin, a professor of mechanical and waste-to-energy plants," he said, "When County landfill, which has a new double­ aerospace engineering at Cornell Univer· plastic, there'd be a heck of a time break· lined system, Zimmie said, "When day is we realized we were running outoflandfill ing through the clay.' sity, likes to refer to them. space (in the late 19708), we looked"at , done, you don't smell anything." One drop of water would take 15 to 20 Although landfills replaced the "old o INCINERATION/page 32 DLANDFIUS/page 26 THE SPOnlGHT PAGE 2 - May 13, 1992 • .. .. for making us "Your Home Town Bank" Come to our Block party and enjoy yourselves. Everything is FREE! WHEN: Sunday, May 17th TIME: From 12 noon until 5 pm WHERE: ill Schenectady-Erie Boulevard will be closed1o traffic from State Street to the GE Plant WHY: It's our way of saying- Thank You! Enjoy the FREE~ .. Hot Dogs & Soda U Dancing Music-4 Bands U Puppet Shows, Downs U Pony Rides • Mime Circus U Magic Shows. Puppets U Balloon Artists Juggling U Rides for the kids A special fluorescent hat will be given awg the first 25,<XXl atten . ~~TRUSTCO ~~BANK {it M,mb<,FDlC Your Home Town Bank 44 BRANCHES IN THE CAPITAL REGION:' MAIN OFFICE 377-3311' ALBANY COUNTY - CENTRAL AVENUE 426-7291' COLONIE PLAZA 456-0041' DELMAR 439-9941' DOWNTOWN ALBANY 447-5953 • GUILDERLAND 355-4890' LATHAM 7SS-0761 • LOUDON PLAZA 462-6668' MADISON AVENUE 489-4711 • NEW SCOTLAND 438-7838' NEWTON PLAZA 186-3687 • PLAZA SEVEN 7854744' ROUTE 9 786-8816' STATE FARM ROAD 452-6913 • STATE STREET-ALBANY 436-9043 • STUYVESANT PlAZA 489-2616' UPPER NEW scon.AND 438-6611 • WOLF ROAD 489-4884' WOLF ROAD WEST 458-1761 • SCHENECTADY COUNTY _ ALTAMONT AVENUE 356-1317' BRANDYWINE 346-4295' CURRY ROAD 355-1900' MAYFAIR 399-9121 • MONT PLEASANT 346-1267. NISKAYUNA-WOODLAWN 377-2264. ROTTERDAM 3.5.5-8330 •.ROTTERDAM SQUARE 317-2393· SHERIDAN PLAZA 317-8517· UNION STREET EAST 382-7511 • UPPER UNION STREET 374-40S6 • SARATOGA COUNTY _ CLIFTON PARK 371-84.51 • HALFMOON 371-0S93 • SHOPPER'S WORLD 383-68SI • WILTON MALL .583-1716· WARREN COUNTY - BAY ROAD 792-2691. GLENS FALLS 798-8131. QUEENSBURY 798-7226· GREENE COUNTY - TANNERS MAIN 943-2500· TANNERS WEST 943-S090· WASHINGTON COUNTY­ GREENWICH 692-2233. COLUMBIA COUNTY _ HUDSON 828-9434. RENNSELAER COUNTY - EAST GREENBUSH 479-7233· HOOSICK FALLS 686-SlS2· TROY 274-5420 THE SPOTLIGHT May 13, 1992 - PAGE 3 Voters OK Be spending plan Environmental eye By Michael DeMasi said .•At the same time, people Stevens, 46, of Van Dyke Road In the largest turnout by dis- ~ognize th~t the board worked in Delmar, collected 1,565 votes, triet residents since 1988, the m every posslbl~ way to qtt costs the most of any candidate. BethlehemCentralSchoolDistrict and keep spendmg down. "I want to express my thanks to budget for Also get- community next year was ting the nod members and approved May from voters friends who 6 by a margin was the ,$2 helped." said of 470 votes. million Beth- Stevens. A total of le~em Public "W hen 1 881 resi- LIb r a r y you're elected d~nts voted in budget (2,043 you have favor of the to 1,21~).and a mixed reac­ $31.7 million prop~sltion to tions," he spending plan, buy SIX school added. "I can while 1,411 Harvith buses at a cost Stevens look forw'll"d voted against of $283,500 to three years it (2,118 to of hard work and three years of . • . 1,238). The buses will be financed continued quality education." I felt I.t would be a tough year by bonds over a five-year period. because it's a tough year for a Harvith,53,of72FernbankAve. number of families and individu­ Winning three-year terms on in Delmar, came in second in the als in the community," said Super­ the school board were incumbents at-large election, collecting 1,564 intendent Leslie Loomis of the Dennis Stevens and Bernard votes. He is a 20-year veteran of results. Harvith. Newcomer Happy Sch­ the board. erer will fill a one-year term, serv­ "Any time people are feeling ingtherernainderofSheilaFuller's "I'm happy people had confi­ pain financially, some individuals vacated seat Fuller left the board dence in me to serve again," said feel the need to express that," he Iastyearto serve on the town board.