In a small town known as the birthplace of women’s rights, the future smells like garbage—literally. Seneca Falls may be stuck with 1,500 tons of New York City trash daily for another 15 years.
The state’s largest landfill, Seneca Meadows, is pushing to stay open through 2040, even though a local law says it must shut down at the end of this year. In March, a split town board voted 3–2 to approve the landfill’s future. That decision came just two months after 9-year-old Leo Mull told boardmembers the dump stinks up his soccer games and worries him about his health.
A fight over law, air, and influence
The landfill spans 400 acres and takes in 6,000 tons of trash each day. It’s also the state’s top emitter of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Local Law 3, passed in 2016, requires Seneca Meadows to close by December 31. But Texas-based Waste Connections, the company that owns it, is fighting to keep it going—and growing.
The company’s latest plan? Fill the valleys between trash piles and build the dump 70 feet higher. That would buy another 15 years of dumping—and another $150 million for the town.
But opponents argue that the landfill already poses serious health and environmental risks. Some blame it for a nearby cluster of lung cancer cases. A report found that cancer rates were as much as 63% higher in the area around the landfill between 2013 and 2017. Waste Connections disputes any link and submitted its own analysis claiming “no evidence” of harm.
Trucks, stink, and toxic waste
Residents and business owners near the dump say the impact is impossible to ignore. Vinny Aliperti, who owns a winery seven miles away, says the trash trucks feel like something out of Mad Max—huge, filthy, and noisy.
And it’s not just about smell. Seneca Meadows produces 60 million gallons of toxic runoff each year. That leachate, contaminated with PFAS chemicals, gets sent to treatment plants that can’t filter it out. Some of that water ends up in the Hudson River, a drinking source for hundreds of thousands of people.
“This isn’t just our problem,” said Yvonne Taylor, co-founder of Seneca Lake Guardian. “It’s the entire state.”
Big money, big questions
Waste Connections made nearly $9 billion last year and poured over $200,000 into a political action committee that backed pro-landfill candidates in Seneca Falls. All three town boardmembers who voted for the landfill were supported by that PAC.
Critics say the company’s influence is clear—and dangerous. One boardmember who opposed the expansion, Frank Schmitter, put it bluntly: “They spend a lot of money on campaigns in this town… but they’re a billion-dollar company.”
A state stuck in neutral
The expansion still needs approval from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which is reviewing Waste Connections’ environmental impact statement. If approved, it would allow dumping to continue well past this year—even while Local Law 3 remains on the books.
Environmental lawyers say that shouldn’t happen. “As a matter of local law, the landfill shouldn’t be able to operate,” said Earthjustice attorney Susan Kraham.
Others are ready to sue if it does. “You’re going to close or you’re going to be held in contempt of court,” said attorney Douglas Zamelis, who represents residents fighting to enforce the law.
Bigger problem, few solutions
New York City sends 44 million pounds of trash to landfills daily, with 1,500 tons of that winding up in Seneca Falls. The city’s own “Zero Waste” law aims to end landfill use by 2030—but right now, less than 25% of waste is diverted.
Meanwhile, New York State has its own climate law that’s supposed to slash emissions 40% by 2030. But emissions have gone up each year since 2020, and the DEC still hasn’t published regulations required under the law.
Back in Seneca Falls, Taylor says the state needs to step up—not just to protect her town, but to make good on its climate promises.
“The decision comes down to this,” she said. “Will the first female governor of New York literally trash the birthplace of women’s rights on her watch?”
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