Fresh Kills Landfill

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Fresh Kills Landfill was a large garbage dump on the western edge of Staten Island, New York City. It covered about 2,200 acres (890 hectares). The site opened in April 1948 and closed on March 22, 2001. For many years it was the largest landfill in the world.

At its peak, around 1986, it received about 29,000 tons of residential waste each day. From 1991 until its closure, it was the only landfill in New York City that accepted the city’s household trash. The landfill consisted of four mounds standing roughly 90 to 225 feet high, holding about 150 million tons of waste.

Fresh Kills became a symbol of the city’s waste system and was considered one of the biggest man-made structures in history. In 2008, work began to reclaim the site and turn it into Freshkills Park, a long-term redevelopment project.

Background and impact: In the mid-20th century, New York City reduced incineration and needed somewhere to dump waste. Fresh Kills was chosen after initial opposition from residents. The project involved dredging marshes, using barges, and layering garbage with ash and soil to manage odors and fill. A notable pollution incident occurred in 1987–88, when medical waste washed onto beaches along the Jersey Shore and New York beaches; New York City paid cleanup and damages.

After the 2001 closure, most NYC waste went to other landfills, with some material incinerated elsewhere. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Fresh Kills was briefly reopened to help sort rubble from Ground Zero, with thousands of workers processing more than 1.6 million tons of debris. A memorial for the victims was completed in 2011.

Redevelopment into Freshkills Park: The park will eventually cover about 2,200 acres, making it roughly three times the size of Central Park. It will feature multiple parks and spaces for wildlife, trails, sports, and recreation. Schmul Park opened in 2012 as the first section. The project was designed to create a network of parks—Confluence, North, South, East, and West Parks—and is expected to reach completion around 2037.

Staten Island Transfer Station: A portion of the former site now houses the Staten Island Transfer Station, which handles about 900 tons of waste per day. The waste is compacted into containers and sent by rail to a landfill in South Carolina. The nearby Staten Island Railway freight service was brought back into use in 2007.