Seneca Meadows Landfill

Seneca Meadows, the largest landfill in New York, was supposed to shut down on December 31, 2025, when it reached capacity. However, Seneca Meadows continues to operate. The landfill remains open thanks to a legal loophole in the State Administrative Procedure Act (SAPA), which for years has allowed corporate polluters to operate while awaiting a final decision from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Meanwhile, our families, friends, and neighbors across the Finger Lakes continue to suffer from noxious odors and ongoing pollution, the landfill’s methane emissions continue to erode our state climate goals, and millions of gallons of PFAS-laden leachate continue to be trucked untreated to waterways across the state. This is unacceptable and deeply concerning.

And the DEC is still considering whether to grant the landfill’s operator, Waste Connections, a new permit that would enable Seneca Meadows to operate for 15 more years and expand its size by 47 acres and 7 stories. Though we have been preparing for the Public Comment Period for three years, the DEC has yet to accept Seneca Meadows’ most recent revision of its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) as complete. Until that happens, that public comment period will not begin – but it could happen any day now. 

 Publicly-available data suggests that Seneca Meadows has been taking in less waste per day than it is permitted to accept, a move designed to delay the official moment when the landfill is deemed “full.” We have heard that the DEC is not monitoring the landfill’s capacity itself, but rather relying on Seneca Meadows to self-report on its remaining capacity. We, the public, have not been able to independently verify its actual capacity or know when the DEC should enforce closure if those limits are reached. But it is quite likely that SMI will be full before any expansion permits are issued. We have called on the DEC to explain how it is monitoring Seneca Meadows’ remaining capacity and commit to clear enforcement and closure actions if its capacity limits have been reached. 

 We continue to monitor these developments closely and are prepared to mobilize quickly when the public comment period opens. Stay tuned – because once it does, we need you to be ready to join us and make your voices heard. 

 Together, we can create a more robust, circular economy in New York, and it starts with preventing the state’s largest mega-landfill from expanding.