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NEW BEDFORD — A controversial waste transfer facility in the North End received approval to go forward Monday from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The $30 million-plus New Bedford project proposed by Parallel Products — doing business as South Coast Renewables — would process up to 1,500 tons of solid waste per day at a site in the New Bedford Industrial Park. It would serve as a transfer site where material is sorted before being sent out for destruction or recycling elsewhere.
The project now goes before the New Bedford Health Department for approval. The agency is required by law to seek further public comment before making its final decision.
“The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection today issued a determination that the proposed South Coast Renewables solid waste management facility in New Bedford meets the site suitability criteria in the state’s solid waste regulations,” said Lauren Moreschi, spokesperson for MassDEP, in a statement emailed to The Light. “The decision followed an extended public comment process and a comprehensive review of the proposal and its impacts by MassDEP.”
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The transfer station is intended to give New Bedford a new outlet for its trash, and help replace the Crapo Hill Landfill in Dartmouth, which may reach capacity and close within the decade. The facility would also bring an estimated 75 jobs and $1 million-plus in annual revenue to the City of New Bedford.
The decision did not come as a surprise to several local stakeholders.
“We are deeply disappointed although not surprised by MassDEP’s positive determination,” said Wendy Morrill, president of South Coast Neighbors United.
Local political leaders also expressed outrage over the decision.
“It is almost criminally negligent that the City and MassDEP would think it’s OK to put a facility like that within 1,000 feet of a residential neighborhood,” said Leo Choquette, the Ward 1 city councilor whose jurisdiction includes the site. “It is irresponsible and I will publicly state that the MassDEP is irresponsible to the taxpayers of Massachusetts if they pull this stunt.”
“I am outraged by the news that the agency has reportedly approved South Coast Renewables’ application,” said Shane Burgo, president of the New Bedford City Council, in a statement to The Light. “This decision reflects a shameful disregard for the health and well-being of New Bedford residents.”
State Sen. Mark Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat, also criticized the move.
“This project flat-out does not belong at this location,” Montigny said in a press release Monday. “I have from the very beginning of this proposal backed the local residents in their fears of health impacts and disruption to their lives.
“They shouldn’t be made to live with the trash of other communities; if the places generating this waste can’t accommodate it, then there should be a plan to ship it off to a wealthy neighborhood around Boston.”
MassDEP said waste transfer stations are important pieces of infrastructure where solid waste is transferred from smaller trucks to larger vehicles to their final destruction or reuse sites.
The project will now include noise barriers and other mitigation measures, said MassDEP.
Also, a new traffic study by the company, approved by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, will result in new mitigation measures, including a traffic signal at the intersection of Phillips Road and Braley Road and some new rules for trucks on roads near the facility.
Jonathan Darling, a public information officer for the City of New Bedford, said in an email that the city made the best of a less than ideal situation.
“From the outset, Mayor Mitchell has made it clear that adding another municipal waste facility in the Business Park is not in the City’s best interest,” he said. “At the same time, the City’s outside legal experts predicted — correctly in retrospect — that the state would inevitably approve the facility.
“The City made the best of this difficult situation by agreeing not to oppose the project in exchange for the company removing a biosolids facility from its proposal, paying significant tipping fees to the City that would support infrastructure projects in Ward One, and a guarantee that the City would receive the lowest available price for disposing its trash at the facility,” he added.
City officials negotiated a host community agreement with South Coast Renewables in 2022. The terms dictate that the city would not publicly oppose the facility, in exchange for the company dropping its plans for biosolids processing on the property.
Parallel Products did not immediately respond to a call requesting comment.
Widespread public opposition
The move to approve the project, in the pipeline since at least 2022, came after a 42-day public comment period. Dozens of city residents spoke out against the project at a public hearing on the project held at the Casimir Pulaski Elementary School on Nov. 13, 2024.
Residents and politicians alike pointed to fears around environmental degradation, public health, noise pollution, and increased traffic.
“Our community has made it clear that we do not want or need a massive waste facility operating just feet from our homes, schools, and businesses,” Burgo said Monday. “We’ve raised credible, science-backed concerns about traffic, noise, air quality, and the longterm impact on the surrounding neighborhoods and we’ve been met with delay after delay, only to now be told that our concerns were effectively ignored.”
The Conservation Law Foundation, which has been helping residents fight the project, echoed those sentiments.
“The community spoke loud and clear in opposition to this unnecessary, polluting facility,” said Alex St. Pierre, director of communities and toxics at CLF. “The state’s waste crisis has poisoned our environment and our health, and this facility will simply perpetuate the status quo.”
Choquette also pointed to recent concerns around a rat infestation in the Shawmut Avenue neighborhood following a fire at the nearby waste transfer station run by EL Harvey Waste and Recycling Services as further reason for his opposition to the project. Now, he said, South Coast Renewables will “put the same type of structure” not far from a residential neighborhood. “Are [DEP] ignorant or criminally negligent?”
He also expressed worries about the effect of the site on home values nearby, possibly affecting the retirement of at least 5,000 people in his estimation.
“The moment that this kind of location is put into place, you are literally taking away 20% of the home value of any property within one mile of this location,” he said.
Morrill echoed those sentiments.
“It’s going to affect the health and safety and property values of the people who live in close proximity to this,” she said.
Those in opposition said the fight will continue.
“The state’s decision is unconscionable,” said St. Pierre. “We will move forward in opposing the proposed waste transfer station at every step of the process.”
Morrill said she hopes the upcoming hearing before the city Health Department will allow residents to be heard more forcefully.
“At this point the Board of Health must evaluate the proposal and they’ll hear from stakeholders in the community,” she said. “The public will at this point have probably an even more involved participation.
“Just because MassDEP approved it doesn’t mean the Board of Health has to approve it.”
If the Health Department decides not to approve the proposal, the company can appeal the decision to Superior Court.
Parallel Products has operated a recycling business in New Bedford’s business park for roughly a decade. It has been seeking to expand the facility for several years.
At the proposed facility, workers would unload trucks full of municipal solid waste. They would sort recyclables out of the garbage and process or sell them. The workers would then repackage and ship out the remaining garbage via train or truck. That trash would be incinerated or buried in other towns and states.
Kevin G. Andrade can be contacted at kandrade@newbedfordlight.org
This story includes reporting from previous stories by former New Bedford Light reporter Adam Goldstein.
Editor’s note: This story was amended on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, to add a statement from state Sen. Mark Montigny.
This does not belong here with all our homes and schools in New Bedford. Think of the people’s health.
If we live in a democracy, than the views of the many should count and not be over-ridden by corporate-influenced policies by the state. Too often, these crucial decisions are either hidden from the public or forced down our throats over our objections. What does it mean if crucial decisions about our lives are made by others without our consent?
At the moment, we are not living in a democracy; we are living under an authoritarian government. Look at what 47 and his yes-men and yes-women–including the majority in the U.S. Supreme Court–have been doing since January 20th. If you want to fight for democracy, participate as much as you can. Go to mobilize.us and find out what you can do.
What this article leaves out is what would happen if there were a fire at this location. The potential for fire is not an if but a when. In order to evacuate my home in Pine Hill Acres, I would have to drive towards the fire along with the everyone else trying to evacuate. There are about 1200 residences within a mile of this location including housing for the elderly and just over a mile away an elementary school. The New Bedford Business Park lists about 3500 employees. In the event of a fire, all of these people will need to escape. DEP was provided with drone footage of the congestion and traffic backing up on the highway but that didn’t seem to matter. The first responders will also encounter this traffic in their attempt to get to a fire. The City commissioned a study called Facets (found on City website) that describes how difficult it would be to respond to a fire in that location. Here is a quote from that report: “The industrial park located along the north end and adjacent to Dartmouth is home to dozens of large manufacturing companies employing thousands of people from the area. Included in the complex are the Titelist Corporation and other manufacturing firms. These complexes include hazardous material storage and handling and require timely response for fire and medical emergencies. These facilities as well as other commercial industry and businesses in the city require significant code enforcement activity. The location and access into the industrial complex pose a challenge to emergency resource deployment. The complex is located at the northernmost section of the city, furthest from the fire and EMS responders. Additionally there are only two main routes of access into the complex as the area is bisected by State Route 140, a limited access highway. ” Would the hazardous materials from these businesses also catch fire if one were to occur at the transfer station adding more fuel to the fire?
The fire that occured at EL Harvey on 5/14/25 required at least 49 responders to quell the fire including a hazmat team. That fire caused a rat infestation in the City for a number of weeks. I was appalled to learn that one pair of rats can produce up to 15,000 descendants during their one year life span. Here is a quote from the Successful Farming website: “If you see one rat on the farm, rest assured there are a lot more.”
“Once a female starts reproducing, she can have 15,000 descendants within her year-long lifespan. Rats reproduce faster than lethal means can eliminate them.”
I witnessed and reported a dead rat on 6/4/25 on Phillips Rd about a block away from the Campbell Elementary School where the Sgt Gannon playground is located.
The NewBedfordGuide.com reported
“The City has arranged with the Regional Refuse District to accept late-arriving garbage trucks from the city’s waste hauler for offloading so that they need not be parked at Shawmut Ave overnight, which may attract rats.” If the City was concerned about a garbage truck attracting rats, how much more attractive would 9-18 railcars filled with trash be awaiting transport to another location? Rats can chew through concrete so a railcar should be easy to gnaw on.
The revenue gained from this project will be offset by decreased property values and resulting tax revenue as well as the cost of damage to roads from heavy trash vehicles.
Hopefully the Board of Health will recognize all of the inherent dangers of locating a waste facility in a heavily populated residential area that DEP didn’t seem to consider.
Look up Phoenix soil in Waterbury CT back in the 90’s. Horrible company that neighbors tried for years to get rid of. They were dug in like a tic on a dog. Good luck.
Politicians are elected to serve and protect the citizens of this State, Cities, and Towns. Why would the city and state officials take the chance of creating another future environmental disaster and superfund cleanup site? Haven’t our elected politicians learned from Aerovox, Atlas Tack, Sullivan’s Ledge, and the 18,000 acres in New Bedford Harbor. The health and safety of this city’s residents should be the number one priority and the expansion of Parallel Products should not move forward.
This trash transfer industry could affect Dartmouth through the travel of water from the site. The location is on the edge of the Acushnet Cedar Swamp, which is the watershed for the Turners Pond in Dartmouth. Turners Pond is the head waters to the Paskamansett River which runs through Dartmouth. There are several public drinking water wells along the Paskamansett River owned by the Dartmouth Water Division.
Run-off from the PP site would drain into the Acushnet Cedar Swamp and ultimately end up flowing down the river, potentially influencing the water quality in those wells. PFAS is a contaminant in drinking water that causes great concern. Industries like this release PFAS into waterways. As an example, SEMASS in Rochester, had high results in their well water when required to test for PFAS. No other public well in Rochester had results close to that of the SEMASS wells.
There is a definite concern of widespread contamination with this type of industry being located next to such an environmentally critical area.