Research

Administrative History

Fresh Kills, the nation's largest municipal landfill, was created by New York City in 1948. It consisted of freshwater tidal wetlands and encompassed 2,200 acres. In 1996, a state law was passed requiring that the landfill cease accepting solid waste by December 31, 2001. By 1997, two of the four mounds were closed and covered with a thick, impermeable cap. The landfill received its last barge of garbage on March 22, 2001. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Fresh Kills landfill was utilized as the staging area for sorting and analyzing debris and human remains recovered from the World Trade Center site.

Solid Waste breaks down over time. The main byproducts of this decomposition are landfill gas and leachate. As of 2019, Fresh Kills was undergoing landfill engineering treatment with sophisticated systems in place to collect and treat these byproducts in order to protect both public health and the environment.