For decades, a trash incinerator plant operated in the South End of Hartford, processing trash from dozens of suburban communities. The surrounding neighborhoods, including many low-income Black and Brown residents, bore the brunt of this pollution, and have the higher asthma rates and lower life expectancies to prove it.

In 2022, the plant was shut down for good, but the board of directors continued to spend down the reserve funds from the plant’s operations, paying executive salaries and subsidizing the trash hauling budgets of the towns who used to send their garbage to Hartford.

In 2023, GHIAA fought to pass legislation that created a new governing board for this site, charged with overseeing the wind-down of operations and the transition toward remediation. The new board was meant to be accountable to the needs of Hartford residents. But as things played out, the same old exploitative patterns continued, and Hartford appointees were not allowed to vote and made to sit in the back of the room at board meetings.

In 2024, GHIAA won passage of additional legislation that ended trash hauling subsidies for good and reimbursed millions of dollars that had been squandered. We continue to keep vigilant watch over the decision-making process that will determine the future of this site.