SENECA FALLS, N.Y. — A business near New York’s largest landfill says its employees are getting sick from landfill gas odors, adding a new dimension to years-long efforts to shut down Seneca Meadows.
Waterloo Container
Waterloo Container Company, a bottle supply business located directly across the street from the landfill, reported 24 employees experienced symptoms as a reaction to the landfill gas.
“I got a little lightheaded. Several employees experienced nausea, a lot got headaches, mostly frustration, but two significant encounters,” Mark Pitifer of Waterloo Container Company said. “One developed cough that lasted through the weekend and he had to step off the line several times just to catch fresh air outside. So it’s just not a good situation.”
Pitifer said Waterloo Container had its own gas readings done that were way higher than they should have been. He said he understands there’s no immediate fix to this.
Pitifer said he wants the DEC to know the odor problem is getting worse and he doesn’t believe the town can police the issue. Seneca Falls Police Chief Tim Snyder said he’s talking with the zoning officer and is now documenting every call they get and working with the DEC.
Expansion Plans
The permit application is with the DEC. The town approved a permit last year.
The operator of Seneca Meadows, Waste Connections, wants to expand and continue operations for another 15 years. The expansion would double the existing airspace, making it about seven stories taller.
Pushback
This process has been ongoing for years. Nearby neighbors and now businesses are calling for the state to not allow the expansion.
Waterloo Container said when it called the police and city, the zoning commissioner said he would not investigate.
“The town is not equipped to police this issue. The landfill cannot control this issue. And the state should not approve this valley infill expansion,” Pitifer said. “Because once it more than doubled in size in its airspace, it’s only going to get worse. And what we see every day is it is worsening each and every week. It’s getting bad.”
The chief of police said the department is now working with the DEC.
The DEC released a statement about the expansion:
On May 11, 2026, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) provided the applicant, Seneca Meadows Inc., a Notice of Incomplete Application for the Seneca Meadows Valley Infill Expansion solid waste management facility and Air Title V permit applications.
If DEC accepts the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) and deems the permit applications complete, a public comment period will commence which will be noticed in the Environmental Notice Bulletin and local newspapers.
DEC will continue to take appropriate actions to address community concerns regarding landfill operations.
News10NBC reached out to the Seneca County Department of Public Health to see if they’re investigating illnesses caused by the landfill.
‘It’s only going to get worse’: Business across Seneca Meadows says workers are falling ill from gas fumes WHEC.com.
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