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Stop the Marangi waste dump: 950 tons of NYC trash a day next to the Heritage Trail

Jul 21, 2026 · by Terra Meierdierck
Stop the Marangi waste dump: 950 tons of NYC trash a day next to the Heritage Trail

Dear friends and neighbors — this is Terra Meierdierck writing on behalf of Orange Environment. We stand with Protect Orange County and neighbors across the Town of Wawayanda who are fighting a permitted garbage transfer station on Dolsontown Road, immediately adjacent to our cherished Heritage Trail and inside the Monhagen Brook Watershed.

What the State has permitted. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued a permit allowing up to 950 tons of trash a day to move through the site, generating as many as 248 diesel truck trips per day beginning at 4:00 a.m., six days a week. Nothing in the permit limits where the waste can come from. The facility's new owners are affiliated with Interstate Waste Services, which holds the largest share of New York City's commercial waste contracts — meaning a rare biodiverse corner of Orange County is being lined up to absorb the garbage of the metropolitan region.

Why this site, and why it matters. The Monhagen Brook Watershed is one of the more ecologically intact sub-watersheds left in the western half of the county. The Heritage Trail — the linear park thousands of residents walk, run, and bike every week — runs directly alongside the parcel. Concentrating heavy-diesel operations here punishes the same communities that were already sacrificed for the CPV power plant. We were told CPV would be the last time. It is not the last time unless we make it the last time.

Where the fight stands. Protect Orange County has filed suit in New York State court challenging the permit. But the Town of Wawayanda still controls the final local approvals — site plan, special-use permit, and related conditions. That is the pressure point where residents can change the outcome this month. Show up, speak, write, and call.

Here is what you can do to STOP the Marangi Waste Dump.

1. Sign and circulate the Protect Orange County petition. Share it with friends, neighbors, social-media groups, your congregation, sports leagues, and PTA lists. Petition signatures give the Town Board a visible count of opposition they cannot ignore.

2. Show up. The Town of Wawayanda is holding a Public Hearing on Wednesday, July 22, at 7:00 p.m. at 80 Ridgebury Hill Road, Slate Hill, NY. Nothing moves elected officials like a full room. Come, and speak if you can — even two sentences about what 4 a.m. garbage trucks would mean for your street, your kids' sleep, or your morning walk on the Heritage Trail is enough. Personal, local, specific comments carry the most weight in a public hearing record.

3. Call Town Supervisor Denise Quinn at (845) 355-5700. Ask why the town is welcoming 950 tons of garbage a day from New York City and out-of-state sources, and ask why Marangi received a waiver allowing 4 a.m. operations six days a week. Be brief, be polite, and be clear that you are a constituent.

4. If you cannot attend, send a short letter or email to the Wawayanda Planning Board urging denial of all remaining approvals: planning@townofwawayanda.com — and please cc ProtectOrangeCo@gmail.com so the coalition can track responses. Personal letters in your own words carry the most weight; form letters carry the least.

5. Call the office of State Senator James Skoufis at (845) 567-1270. Ask why the DEC is burdening a region already burdened by the CPV plant, and what he will do to stop this project and protect residents and natural resources. State-level pressure changes what DEC does next.

6. If you live near the site, tell your story. Residents of Horizons, David Moore Heights, and the surrounding neighborhoods around Dolsontown Road who are willing to describe how this facility would affect daily life can directly strengthen the legal and public record. Reach Protect Orange County at (845) 237-2371.

7. Pledge to boycott Marangi and Interstate Waste, and urge local businesses to do the same. If you currently use Marangi, or know someone who does, call the company at (845) 268-5747 and tell them you will boycott if they build this project. Contracts drive corporate decisions faster than permits do.

8. Forward this post to five neighbors and follow Protect Orange County on Facebook at @ProtectOrangeCounty. Distribution is the whole game between now and the hearing.

Why Orange Environment is standing with Protect Orange County. This is exactly the pattern our board and members have been warning about for years: outside waste and freight operators finding the least-defended parcels in Orange County and concentrating regional harm on the neighborhoods that already carry more than their share. It is the same logic that drove CPV, the warehouse buildout along the I-84 corridor, and the data-center proposals we have been organizing against. Stopping the Marangi transfer station on Dolsontown Road is part of the same fight for smart-growth land use, watershed protection, and community self-determination that Orange Environment has led since 1982.

This community stopped listening politely a long time ago. We organized, we sued, and we showed up — and we are doing it again. Join us on July 22, and every day between now and then. — Terra Meierdierck, Treasurer, Orange Environment, with Protect Orange County and our neighbor James Cromwell.