Stop Trashing Our Air Act (250768)

The mayor of Chester described growing up amid refinery pollution and urged Council to stop sending Philadelphia's trash to Chester's incinerator, calling it their 'Jeff Brown moment.'

A Widener University chemistry professor detailed Chester's asthma rates — twice the state level — and called the incinerator's siting environmental racism.

The Energy Justice Network founder argued incineration causes 23 times more public health harm than landfilling and said the bill would create more union jobs.

Reworld's Pennsylvania environmental manager defended the facility, saying emissions run up to 99 percent below permitted levels and an independent health risk assessment found operations protective.

A Reworld HR manager described growing local hiring in Chester, from a few employees to 26 city residents.

The Reworld facility manager of 36 years said emissions are continuously monitored and run 60 to 90 percent below Clean Air Act standards.

A Chester-born Reworld administrative assistant said the job let her leave government assistance and stay close to family.

A Reworld community relations director from Camden asked Council to vote no, describing collaborative relationships with host communities.

A Chester grandmother and One PA member described her own asthma diagnosis after the incinerator arrived and asked Council to 'see us, hear us and protect us.'

A union rep for operating engineers at Reworld warned the bill would remove a bidder from an active RFP and put up to 120 family-sustaining jobs at risk.

A Trash Academy and Clean Philadelphia Now member said the city can't be 'cleanest, greenest' while trashing Chester, and urged stronger waste diversion in sanitation contracts.

A Marine veteran and 35-year Reworld worker from Chester described the facility's power generation, metal recycling and community service.

The Delco Environmental Justice organizer urged Council to act as other states ban incineration, saying 'the country is watching us.'

A Philadelphia resident in solidarity with Chester demanded a 'bill to breathe clean' and an end to incinerators.

Reworld's government relations director said intervening mid-RFP undermines a fair procurement process and urged a no vote.

A Physicians for Social Responsibility director argued no community is disposable and urged passage, noting EPA's recent rollback of health-impact accounting.

A Northeast Philly organizer recalled the city closed its own incinerators over health harms and asked why Chester should bear what Philadelphia wouldn't.

A Chester resident living near the incinerator described odors, dust and her granddaughters' new health problems, begging Council to pass the bill.

A Reworld environmental engineer disputed a county-commissioned report, saying it overstated emissions by 57 percent, and urged a no vote.

A longtime area resident argued Reworld's truck traffic makes it Chester's biggest pollution source and urged passage.

A seven-generation Chester father described his daughter's chronic cough and nosebleeds near the incinerator.

A Chester young person described her little sister's constant coughing and allergies after moving to Chester and asked Council to clean the air.

A Trash Academy co-director with asthma called Chester's toxic air 'terrifying' and urged Philadelphia to catch up on waste diversion.

Cited EPA records showing the Chester incinerator was fined over $300,000 for high-priority Clean Air Act violations in 2024.

A trained medical professional whose family lost his grandmother to asthma after the incinerator opened begged Council: 'clean air is a human right.'

The Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living leader pushed back on union job claims, saying the incinerator created only about 120 jobs in three decades.

Spelled his name for the record and voiced support for the bill.

A stroke survivor with lung disease begged Council to pass the bill for his five grandchildren, and called for landlord accountability on indoor air.

The Zero Waste America publisher traced Pennsylvania's history as the nation's top waste importer and backed the bill.

A Chester advocate invoked Dr. King and George Floyd, urging Council to 'let us breathe' and pass the act.

Delivered a colorful argument that burning Philadelphia's trash in Chester is like fouling your own bed, since the air drifts back.