Giordano's Recycling Facility Proposal

Giordano’s Recycling submitted an application to Salem City, NJ, to build a recycling and wet waste transfer station on Tilbury Road, atop a closed, capped legacy landfill that was unregulated during part of its operating history. The proposal was for a vast 100,000-square-foot facility that would accommodate approximately 150 to 200 trucks daily.

 

This proposal raised numerous environmental, safety, economic, and quality-of-life concerns, as the proposed location for this industrial operation was on the banks of the Salem River, nestled between two well-established neighborhoods.

Salem County Preservation & Development quickly assembled a team of Salem County residents with professional expertise in construction, environmental science, legal services, project management, mathematics, and financial services. Our team wrote a petition, built a social media presence to inform and educate the public about the Giordano proposal, conducted a letter-writing campaign, and crowdsourced funds to hire an attorney.

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Outcome

After six weeks of nearly constant campaigning, letter writing, research, and neighborhood canvassing, the Salem County commissioners voted down the Giordano project 5 to 0. This was a significant victory for Salem County, as nearly every municipality would have felt the impact of this poorly located and planned proposal.