Last spring, I visited the infamous Freshkills Park, 2,200-acre wetlands that once housed the former Fresh Kills Landfill. For 46 years, Fresh Kills Landfill was the largest operating landfill in the world, processing about 29,000 short tons of garbage per day. In 1996, Staten Island’s Borough President Guy Molinari filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging the Fresh Kills Landfill violated the Clean Air Act of 1970 due to the daily emission of 5 tons of methane gas from the decomposing garbage. The landfill was finally closed in March of 2001, and was briefly reopened as a sorting area after the 9/11 attacks. Rescue workers sifted through approximately 1.6 million tons of World Trade Center rubble.
After closing, the garbage was covered by an impermeable landfill cap, sealing the garbage underground forever. This seal stops water from entering the waste, and stops methane gas from entering the atmosphere uncontrolled. Today, the park is suited to become the largest New York City park, about three times larger than Central Park. It is currently the largest grasslands environment in the region. The ecosystem has since started healing, and has become a hub for Ecology research and bird watching. The park will also have a memorial where the 9/11 search and rescue efforts took place, honoring the lives lost. This beautiful park serves as a reminder for how important environmental conservation is, and what we can do to promote ecological diversity in our environment.
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