The Landfill Story

If you value northern New Hampshire’s pristine natural environment, you should know it’s being threatened by a massive new landfill. 

Casella Waste Systems—a multi-billion-dollar out-of-state operator with a shameful environmental record—wants to site this dump right in the middle of the Ammonoosuc River watershed, half a mile from unspoiled Forest Lake and in one of the highest-ranked wildlife areas in NH.

North Country Alliance for Balanced Change is working to protect the environment and the health of our White Mountains communities from this deeply harmful and unnecessary project.

Casella’s dump—which has the innocuous name Granite State Landfill—would cover 147 acres of forest and wetlands, an area 75% the size of Forest Lake. It would be the third huge landfill in northern NH and among the largest in New England.

The proposed dump would be in the tiny working-class town of Dalton, which Casella targeted because it has no zoning to control development.  1800 tons of trash would be dumped in Dalton every day for 18 years.

And half the trash would come from out-of-state.

Now Casella is threatening the entire state with false and fearful stories of waste capacity issues and disposal costs if the dump isn’t built. 

But New Hampshire doesn’t need new landfill capacity. According to the NH Department of Environmental Services, NH has room for its own trash until at least 2034—and decades beyond with anticipated waste reduction measures and expansion at existing facilities.

This is the wrong place for a dump. The EPA tells us all dumps leak, especially in areas with porous gravel soils and fractured bedrock like this site. Leaks and spills of leachate carrying toxic PFAS “forever” chemicals would travel rapidly to damage the watershed, its rivers, lakes, and groundwater, including private wells.

The dump wouldn’t meet state-of-the-art water safety standards now in effect in nearby states. Local communities, hikers, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts miles away could expect contaminated water and noxious polluted air.

Our small towns would suffer.  Huge trash haulers would make 200 trips a day down main streets on roads not meant for such traffic. 8,000-gallon tankers full of toxic leachate would roll past our elementary schools.  Our historic reputation as a prime tourist and recreation destination and our economic vitality would be ruined. Property values would decline.

Please help us protect the North Country and all of New Hampshire from an exploitive company with a consistent record of deceit and betrayal in the communities it targets.

How You Can Help

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  • Donate to NCABC. We’re 100% volunteer: your contributions help fund our specialized team of legal, engineering, and advocacy professionals who are central to challenging Casella and bringing solid waste reform to New Hampshire. 

Community Partners

  NH Sierra Club   | Patagonia   |   Conservation Law Foundation

Community Action Works   |   Just Zero   |   Slingshot

Forest Lake Association