Landfill operations generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue each year to Lower Sichuan Township. Revenues will increase to the township with Eastern as the landfill's owner. In Bethlehem, we would welcome a business that creates that type of revenue and jobs. We can only hope that our suburban neighbors look at it the same way. As one of the speakers at the Lower Saucon meeting noted, the mayor's remarks are all about money, but the questionsare about safety, quality of life and environmental protection.
Money offers little to a community if no one wants to live there.
The decision to sell Bethlehem's landfill has ramifications beyond just the landfill. This is a critical issue for the long-term financial stability of one of the Lehigh Valley's cities. If the people of the Lehigh Valley have a concern for the fate of our cities, they will look beyond the sensational rhetoric of a few vocal opponents of private-landfill ownership and will voice their support for a prudent action that is long overdue.