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New Bedford Board of Health Votes to Deny Approval of Controversial Trash Transfer Facility

By Paul C. Kelly Campos
Published September 17, 2025 at 1:05 PM EDT
Christine Kelley, a New Bedford resident and member of the advocacy group South Coast Neighbors United, said she was ‘ecstatic’ with the final decision.
Paul C. Kelly Campos /Ocean State Media
Christine Kelley, a New Bedford resident and member of the advocacy group South Coast Neighbors United, said she was ‘ecstatic’ with the final decision.

After months of hearings and deliberation, the New Bedford Board of Health voted against granting South Coast Renewables permission for the project

The New Bedford Board of Health voted 2-to-1 Tuesday night to deny approval for a controversial trash transfer facility in the city’s North End, effectively killing the project as proposed.

The board cited multiple environmental and health issues brought up during recent community hearings as reasons for denying the project approval. The decision comes nearly six years after South Coast Renewables, formerly known as Parallel Products, initially proposed the project in 2019.

“I am just ecstatic that finally this is over,” said Christine Kelley, a New Bedford resident and member of the advocacy group South Coast Neighbors United (SCNU). “We got the vote that we should have received.”

The facility would have sorted around 1,500 tons of solid waste per day, before sending it out for destruction or recycling elsewhere, which would have made New Bedford No. 1 in terms of trash facilities in Massachusetts.

Matt O’Donnell, a New Bedford resident and member of the advocacy group South Coast Neighbors United, said he felt that the community’s consistent pressure on the issue over the last six years helped pressure the Board of Health to deny approval for the site.
Paul C. Kelly Campos / Ocean State Media
Matt O’Donnell, a New Bedford resident and member of the advocacy group South Coast Neighbors United, said he felt that the community’s consistent pressure on the issue over the last six years helped pressure the Board of Health to deny approval for the site.

“We helped show them that this site should not be approved,” said Matt O’Donnell, a New Bedford resident who has followed the issue for the last four years. “It should not be anywhere near houses.”

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection gave its approval to the trash transfer station in July. The city’s Board of Health hosted a series of public hearings at Casimir Pulaski Elementary School to solicit public comment and to discuss the potential health and environmental impacts of such a facility.

The company behind the proposal said it would work to limit the impact on the surrounding neighborhood. But local groups like SCNU said the transfer station would have led to unavoidable environmental and health impacts. The Board cited environmental and health concerns such as potential rat infestations, air pollutant risks for residents nearby and impacts on traffic congestion as key concerns.

The New Bedford Board of Health on Tuesday also moved to levy a $2,800 public hearing fee and a technical fee of $61,691.43.

South Coast Renewables can appeal the decision. It’s not yet clear if the company plans to do so.
Climate and Environment
Paul C. Kelly Campos
Paul C. Kelly Campos is a Report for America Corps member who covers democracy and community engagement for The Public’s Radio. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kelly is a writer, poet and translator of Irish and Nicaraguan descent. His bilingual work has appeared in NPR’s Next Generation Radio, The Washington Post, KQED Forum, KALW, Prism, The Golden Gate Xpress, Seen and Heard, The San Franciscan, and Borderless magazine. He graduated from SF State with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in English literature in 2021. In his spare time he can be found consuming pupusas, reading poetry, or playing with his cat ‘Dr. Otto Octavious Phd.’ all while “The Damned” plays loudly in the background.
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