Is the methane from the landfill enough to power a gaslight? That’s the question I had to ask myself as I sat through the Sept. 25 webinar on Ontario County’s landfill expansion.
As the consultant (who was paid with our tax dollars) tried to convince all of us that his team approached their study without a set point of view or recommendation, I had to wonder what more they felt would have constituted an endorsement. From my view, they had all the pieces for a pro-Casella puzzle.
Let’s start with the “consulting team.” Portions of the report were prepared by Jerry Leone. You might remember that name; he was Casella’s regional engineer. The last time it expanded — higher and wider — Jerry led the charge. At the time (2016), Jerry did an interview where he said that the expansion was conditioned on the county adopting a plan to reduce its trash intake and divert recycling and food waste from the general waste stream. (Here’s the direct quote from the transcript: “It’ll now be up to the county to divert waste, recycle more aggressively and work with Casella as we fulfill an educational campaign throughout the region,” said Jerry Leone of Casella Waste........