The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Incineration and environmental justice : the case of communities around Connecticut resource recovery facilities
Author:	Bilheimer, Michael A.
View Online:	njit-etd2004-045 (xiv, 108 pages ~ 11.4 MB pdf)
Department:	Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Environmental Policy Studies
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Cohen, Maurie J. (Committee chair) Qiu, Zeyuan (Committee member) Chou, Porchiung B. (Committee member)
Date:	2004-05
Keywords:	Landfill capacity Resource recovery
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	The current depleting landfill capacity in Connecticut means that resource recovery facilities will be relied on heavily to meet the States' waste disposal needs. This heavy reliance on these facilities will place greater burdens on the host communities of these waste facilities. Therefore it is important to examine the citing of these facilities to determine if these sitings unfairly targeted a particular segment of the population. To determine if siting has been unjust in Connecticut, this study uses a geographic information system (GIS) to analyze demographic data surrounding each facility in a comparison of demographic data from 1990 and 2000 was preformed to determine if sitings targeted minorities, low income communities, or predominantly rental communities. Results indicate that resource recovery facilities were located in predominantly rental communities. Rental communities were examined as a proxy for income level, due to the absence of census tract income data.