scope:

Summary

The effects of landfills and other solid waste facilities on nearby residential properties cannot be easily generalized; however, academic research and other evidence indicate that residential property values are not necessarily adversely affected by close proximity to such facilities. In some circumstances, the impact can be positive.

State-of-the-art, environmentally safe landfills, transfer stations, and waste-to-energy facilities are able to contribute to healthy land values through host community fees, tax revenues, jobs, reliable waste disposal services, energy generation, and infrastructure improvements.

Parker cites several examples, such as a study in Texas for a planned landfill, which concluded, "Throughout the state, research at other landfills has shown no decline in property values and, in many cases, nearby property values have actually increased around well-designed and operated facilities."

Parker comments, "Generalizations and misinformation about the community impacts of these needed facilities only exacerbate the problem. The nature of this problem is aptly summarized by the First Law of Garbage, which is: 'Everybody wants it picked up, but nobody wants it put down.' And, the second part of this Law is: 'Nobody wants it put down anywhere near them.'

"NSWMA supports efforts to reduce our waste generation and to reuse and recycle as much as we can," Parker adds. "Over the past decade, states and local communities have been successfully moving in that direction. But safe, environmentally protective disposal facilities will be needed regardless of how much waste can be reduced or recycled."

Parker notes there is a "growing compatibility" between modern, highly engineered landfills and the physical and economic environments of communities. In support of this view, he points to the statement of a former official of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency: "Landfills and communities can work together and accept each other and actually benefit from each other."