How will we make up the tax revenue that comes from WM operations? 

There is already $15.75 million dollars in a trust set up in 1997 to protect and transition the community in the event of the dump's closure. According to an independent financial analysis, these funds would insulate Plainfield Township from any impact to revenue through at least 2038. Over the next decade plus, the township can work to bolster economic development in the area in anticipation of this to further protect residents from an increase in taxes once the fund runs out.  

Furthermore, the Slate Belt has undergone a similar transition before. Who was at the center of this question the last time around? The Slate Quarries! As asphalt shingles and economic downturn threatened the very livelihood and tax revenue of our community, I’ll bet folks really struggled to see how they could survive without the quarries powering our economy. But here we are. The community adapted before, and we can do it again. 

What would we do if we didn’t have WM who donated money to maintain our athletic fields or sponsor community projects?

 The donations Waste Management makes are part of a strong and effective PR strategy pursued by WM. Does WM donate to our community out of the goodness of their hearts? Maybe they do. But approving such expenditures would not happen if it wasn’t also a savvy business decision for them. 

We aren’t partners with WM. We’re a strategic investment. They’ll invest in the community. And those investments may be significant from our perspective. But they are just enough to buy your good will and get you to support their operation, so they can expand and continue to extract exponentially more in profits by creating another giant mound of trash right next to those fields they kicked in just a few bucks to help maintain. This bargain is just not worth it.

Waste Management strategically makes charitable contributions in the community as an attempt to curry favor with residents so they will back their efforts to expand and continue to extract profits while they fill our back yard with trash. 

They never miss an opportunity for a photo op with a cardboard check. Their contributions, which in 2024 were self-reported at around $100,000, are a drop in the bucket on their bottom line, which showed net profits of $2 billion in 2023 alone. In truth, it doesn’t begin to cover the cost to the quality of life in our area. We live in an arrangement that feels like it comes right out of a mafia movie: “This is a lovely Green Knight energy program you have here. It will be a shame if you don’t approve our expansion. That program and those big cardboard checks would have to go away.” Should we continue to react in fear from these implied threats? 

Furthermore, we should consider that Waste Management is not the only company interested in donating to charitable causes in the community. The same benefit of tax-deductible contributions exists for all businesses. If Waste Management disappeared tomorrow, we believe in the businesses in our community to step up and be good partners, ones that don't have the same health and environmental tradeoffs as WM.