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All Baled Up and No Place to Go

(The Conservationist, January-February 1988, a publication of the New York State

Department of Environmental Conservation, pages 36 to 39)

Barge Trip Underscores Our Solid Waste Crisis

No one noticed the Mobro 4000’s departure from Long Island City with some 3,100 tons of solid waste. But after five months, 6,000 miles and eight re­fusals to allow unloading, the “garbage barge” became a household word. The media watched, people chuckled, but public officials every­where were breathing sighs of relief that-at least this time-it was not their town’s garbage in the national limelight.

The problem of having no place to dispose of solid waste is not confined to downstate New York. DEC esti­mates that within seven years all of the landfills presently operating in New York State will be full or closed. The garbage barge’s story serves as a re­minder of the urgent need to reduce discards and find new ways to handle trash.

The saga of the world’s best traveled trash began on March 22, 1987 when the Mobro, towed by the tug, Break of Dawn, sailed for Morehead City, North Carolina. Its cargo was mostly paper, plastic and wood trash from Long Is­land and New York City. Apparently, however, the private interests which had arranged to ship the waste to a gas conversion project in North Carolina had neglected to obtain necessary approvals. North Carolina refused to allow the barge even to moor.

The Mobro continued on its way, traveling to the Gulf of Mexico in search of a friendly government willing to accept the trash for disposal. What followed was a series of refusals by Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, New Jersey, the Bahamas, Mexico and Belize.

More trouble awaited the Mobro 4000 on its return home in May. The City of New York prohibited the barge from docking or unloading within its waters. Meanwhile, the private carter legally responsible for the waste declared bankruptcy, signaling that the waste had been abandoned by its owners.

Twelve weeks later, after intensive discussions between local officials and environmental groups over the fate of the waste, the problem was no nearer to a solution and the Mobro 4000 continued to languish in New York Harbor. To prevent the waste from becoming a public nuisance, New York State intervened, joining with the City of New York and the Town of Islip to devise an acceptable plan for the waste’s disposal.

"The barge was a failed private transaction. When the private parties responsible were unable to agree, government stepped in to bring about a solution," commented DEC Commissioner Thomas C. Jorling.

In July, a plan was announced to take the waste to the Southwest Incinerator in Brooklyn, open up each bale to inspect for and remove any hazardous or infectious waste, incinerate the remaining waste, and bury the ash residue in Islip’s Blydenburgh Landfill.

The plan was duly challenged. However, the Kings County Supreme I Court affirmed the plan, and in September, 400 tons of ash residue, the byproduct of incineration, were buried in the Islip landfill.

Although the spectacle of the barge and its unwanted cargo provided a certain amount of amusement, the 6,000-mile odyssey highlighted a more serious matter—our solid waste management crisis.

"Specifically, the barge’s journey has pointed out that we must plan for the safe and efficient disposal of our solid waste. In this interest, DEC has developed a State Solid Waste Management Plan to help localities in planning solid waste management systems, noted Commissioner Jorling.

"I urge New Yorkers to familiarize I themselves with this document and become involved with the planning and implementation of sound solid waste management programs for their Communities"

The Conservationist, January-February 1988, a publication of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, pages 36 to 39

Last Updated May 04, 2008
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