This is a letter to the editor I published at the Daily Advance. Posted here for posterity, since they have no online archive:
I’m trying to understand why people consider landfills such horrible things. I grew up in the shadow of the Virginia Beach landfill, which was simply a great big grassy hill on the horizon. It didn’t smell bad and the blue flame coming off the single methane tower was actually quite beautiful at night.
The five-star restaurant, Swan Terrace, sits within view of the landfill as does the Founder’s Inn luxury hotel. Wealthy neighborhoods, high-priced condominiums, and even televangelist Pat Robertson’s mansion are located in the landfill’s immediate surroundings. Far from being a detriment to the community, the Virginia Beach landfill has increased property values.
That’s because everyone knows the current landfill will eventually become a beautiful park, just like the previous landfill, Mount Trashmore. People fish and crab out of the water surrounding this public park made out of trash, which also supports a skateboard park and several large playgrounds. Virginia Beach holds numerous events, including its annual fireworks display on the 4th of July at this park.
The current Virginia Beach landfill is destined to become the largest constructed public park in Tidewater. From the top of that hill you can see downtown Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach. It’s a fantastic geographic landmark in an otherwise flat coastal plane.
Trash happens. Somebody has to deal with it. North Carolina would not degrade itself by importing garbage from huge metropolitan areas like New York, which have run out of places for their trash. Landfills can potentially employ hundreds of people, they become beautiful parks once filled to capacity, and, if we wanted to get really creative, we could even harness the methane they produce for energy just as Japan does.
With all of these potential benefits being paid for by other states, we should not prohibit landfills without more thorough research and informed public debate.