Fresh Kills Landfill
The Fresh Kills Landfill was a landfill covering 2,200 acres (890 ha) in the New York City borough of Staten Island in the United States. The name comes from the landfill's location along the banks of the Fresh Kills estuary in western Staten Island.
Fresh Kills Landfill | |
|---|---|
Landfill site | |
Garbage scows bring solid waste to Plant #2 at Fresh Kills Landfill in 1973 | |
Fresh Kills Landfill on the western edge of Staten Island | |
| Coordinates: 40.57667°N 74.18733°W | |
| Opened | April 1948 |
| Closed | March 22, 2001 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 900 ha (2,200 acres) |
The landfill opened in 1948 as a temporary landfill, but by 1955 it had become the largest landfill in the world, and it remained so until its closure in 2001. At the peak of its operation, in 1986, Fresh Kills received 29,000 short tons (26,000 t) of residential waste per day, playing a key part in the New York City waste management system. From 1991 until its closing it was the only landfill to accept New York City's residential waste. It consists of four mounds that range in height from 90 to about 225 feet (30 to about 70 m) and hold about 150 million short tons (140×106 t) of solid waste. The archaeologist Martin Jones characterizes it as "among the largest man-made structures in the history of the world."
In October 2008, reclamation of the site began for a multi-phase, 30-year site redevelopment. The landfill has been developed into Freshkills Park.