A pleasant day with a march planned to highlight the effects of environmental injustice in the city of Chester quickly disintegrated into a finger-pointing political rally.
Chester residents along with a great number of residents from surrounding jurisdictions and other
counties congregated in front of Chester City Hall, waiting for the march to Covanta’s facilities along the 291 corridor. Covanta has long been a target of environmentally conscious residents in the city of Chester. The Covanta incinerator burns trash from Delaware County, Philadelphia, New York City, and as far away as Puerto Rico, with ash and residue polluting the atmosphere in nearby communities. In 2019 the facility was cited as one of the largest polluters of its kind in the country. It does speak to the level of potential harm that a facility of this kind is doing in a community as small as Chester; however, it has not escaped the community that Covanta is not the only industrial facility operating along the 291 corridor, adding to the toxicity in the air.
In addition to Covanta, there are DelCora, Monroe, M & M Industries, Scott Paper, and quite a few other manufacturers adding to what amounts to a deadly health situation for the city’s residents.
The current contract with Covanta ends on April 20, 2022. Protesters were advocating that the contract not be renewed. They have accused the current City government of placing profits above people. Zulene Mayfield, a well- known advocate says that the “City government has prostituted the residents for money.” Mayfield has been fighting for environmental justice for Chester since the early ’90s and was featured in the documentary “Laid to Waste,” which tells the story of waste processing through the eyes of residents, local leaders, politicians, and environmental officials involved. Mayfield formerly lived next to the largest trash incinerator in the state and fought hard to bring environmental justice to her family and all those living within the shadow of the plant. She has since moved from the city, but she remains passionate about the environmental injustice heaped on the community.
https://paconservationheritage.org/stories/zulene-may- field
This was not Mayfield’s first protest, and I’m certain it won’t be her last given how deeply she seems to care. However, I hope that she remembers to leave politics out of the matter. Principles above personalities is always a good thing to be mindful of when dealing with matters that elicit such deep-seated emotions in a community, and rightfully so. Covanta burns 200 tons of trash and recycling per day, and a city with a population of approximately 33,000 people is not generating 200 tons of trash daily.
I understand the issue. I share the concerns as a resident of the city; but, what I found concerning was a political
speech given by a candidate for Chester City Council. It would not have been so glaring had all of the candidates been present. There were political signs for the one candi- date. It appeared to have been deliberate, and the crowd seemed to have been encouraged to embrace the political
aspect of the rally, so I was definitely suspect; as, I was there about the issue of environmental justice for Chester. In my opinion, this distracted from the issue at hand which is Covanta, and the burning of trash that’s polluting the air we breathe and literally killing the citizens of this city!
