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The Harrisburg Incinerator and Waste Importation

Harrisburg City waste production: about 150
Incinerator design capacity:            760
Average burned in 2000:                 460
Current permitted limit:                500
Capacity if retrofitted:                720

The Harrisburg incinerator is large enough to handle 3-5 times the amount of trash that the City generates. This waste comes from throughout Dauphin County and even from out of state. The incinerator's out-of-state waste imports have increased over the years:

Importation of waste to Harrisburg Incinerator (1989-1996)

 Total 1989  1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
 Pennsylvania  16,325 149,477  169,800  174,006  160,005  104,688  75,094  849,385
 Out-of-state   0  5  0  0  22,383  55,961  95,220  173,569
 Total  16,325  149,482  169,800  174,006  182,388  160,649  170,314  1,022,964
 % Imported  0%  0%  0%  0%  12%  35%  56%  17%
(Source: PA Department of Environmental Protection)

Mayor Reed's failed attempts to keep the incinerator fed:


More information on waste importation can be found here:
Waste Policy Project


Return to the Coalition Against the Incinerator (CAI)