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Residents urge Essex County to limit incinerator use as commissioners approve waste agreements
Summary
Public commenters and community groups pressed commissioners to downsize or limit a Newark resource-recovery plant and to form a task force to reduce reliance on incineration; the board approved two ordinances and related contracts that county staff say continue current processing arrangements and lock in lower disposal rates.
Essex County residents and environmental advocates urged the Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 20 to halt plans that would lock the county into extended waste-disposal agreements with an incineration facility in Newark, arguing the plant adds pollution to already overburdened neighborhoods.
At the start of public comment, Arnold Cohen of Newark told the board he wanted two immediate steps: that the county "immediately downsize the incinerator" and stop accepting out‑of‑county garbage, and that commissioners form a task force to reduce reliance on the incinerator. Winfred Victor Hines, executive director of the Wequoi Haik Park Association, called incineration "outdated, expensive, polluting," and urged an Essex County citizen task force…
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