Seneca Meadows, owned by Seneca Meadows, Inc. (SMI) is a landfill located near Seneca Falls, New York, in the Town of Waterloo, with almost 400 acres (160 ha) of landfill and a 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) facility.[1] It is the largest active landfill in New York State, as well as Seneca County's fourth largest industrial employer.[2] At peak times, they employ over 160 full-time workers. In 2005, it accepted over 6,000 tons of garbage a day from multiple states (then three). The height limit was 280 feet (85 m).[3] Methane gas is sent to a nearby independent facility for producing electricity, some of which Seneca Meadows buys back for their own power needs. Seneca Meadows began producing gas for electricity in 1995, then producing 2.4 Megawatts. Today it produces 18 Megawatts, enough to power 15,000 to 18,000 homes.[4] Seneca Meadows parent company, IESI Corporation, claims that the revenue of the landfill is around $48 million.
The landfill accepts trash from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It will continue its operation through at least 2023.[4]
The site was first created in 1953 and owned by the Tantello Corporation. This was closed some 30 years later as the groundwater was found to be contaminated as at that time there were no regulations on what could be disposed of in a landfill. This led to a $22 million clean-up and a site in the middle of the facility which is still left undisturbed.
Seneca Meadows recycles about two million tires a year, making it one of the largest tire recyclers in the country. The tires are chopped up and the chips used in place of stone for drainage.[5]
In 2007, a 181-acre (0.73 km2) expansion was added that was estimated to provide 14 years of landfilling.[6]
In 2009, Seneca Meadows opened its Environmental Education Center, a LEED Gold Certified building, which uses geothermal heat. Environmental related courses and labs for area schools are held there by the Audubon Society staff.[7] The building was part of a wetland creation project which the landfill was required to do because natural wetland was taken by the landfill during expansion. The amount and extensiveness of the wetland created, however, was far beyond the minimum requirement, exceeding 1,000 acres in total.[8]
In a recent debate between the two State Senators, Senator Edward O'Shea questioned his Republican counterpart Mike Nozzolio for accepting a $4,000 campaign donation from Seneca Meadows who is lobbying for permission to dig a controversial clay mine in Waterloo.[9]