About 50 people from communities surrounding Alliance Sanitary Landfill in Northeastern Pennsylvania dined on hot dogs and burgers after taking a tour of the operation. As they sat down with plates of potato salad, visitors had a view of the mountain of dirt covering the days trash.

Pete Record is assistant construction manager of the landfill. He says holding a cookout at the foot of a trash heap might seem like a strange idea — but with the landfill trying to build support for an expansion plan, Record says it's a good way to reach out to people.

You gotta entice them a little bit. I mean not everybody thinks this is a great tour, but I really enjoy it. It's a way for me to not only give a tour and explain a tour, but it's been fun because I get to meet a lot of people that I've never had the opportunity to talk to before, so I like this idea, it's been a good thing.

Jerry Conforti, who's lived in the area since before the landfill moved in, says he's been impressed.

What I've seen here so far, this looks decent. Even sitting here right now, you can't smell anything, and you can't tell this is a dump from down there. As fast as they get it in, they bury it. There's no garbage flying down the road, there's no litter down there. They do a very good job of maintaining it here.

But not all of the neighbors are convinced. Alliance Sanitary Landfill is just off the turnpike — making it easy to spot from the highway. There's also a good view of from Mary's Sempa's front yard.

It looks like a big bald spot in the center of a beautiful mountain. It's amazing how large it is. You can keep driving on that turnpike and it just seems to be everywhere... and I can see the majority of it from here. Especially in the fall when the leaves are gone.

Sempa says when she moved into the Pine Crest section of Old Forge Borough nine years ago, the landfill was just a spot on a mountain. Now, it's become the dominant feature of her skyline.

Alliance Landfill is situated between Ransom Township and Taylor and Old Forge Boroughs. Alliance has built strong community relationships with Ransom and Taylor... but Old Forge has consistently opposed expanding the landfill.

Over a year ago, the state Department of Environmental Protection denied Alliance a permit for expansion. That decision is being appealed, but Alliance would like to convince Old Forge residents that the landfill could be a good neighbor. Landfill spokesperson, John Hambrose.

We think are a significant part of the local economy. We're helping things like youth athletics and we're sponsors of many organizations and events like that. And we employ a hundred people right here on this site. You know, there are a hundred family sustaining jobs, and that's just part of what we think we contribute to this part of Pennsylvania.

But according to Alan Heyen, chair of the Old Forge Borough Council's environmental committee... the region already has enough business.

It's a restaurant driven community. Old Forge Pizza and the restaurants here are famous throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. I don't consider that landfill in that location a viable industry that we should forsake our community. It's right on the turnpike exit, we should be chasing commercial business.

Heyen says Alliance has offered money to Old Forge civic groups and youth groups... The landfill had even offered 2-million dollars to the local school district — all those donations were turned down.

But in nearby Ransom and Taylor, Alliance has gained significant community support. Landfill spokesperson John Hambrose says township and borough taxes have been virtually eliminated by host fees the landfill pays those communites.

Taylor resident John Radzwillowicz (Raz-oh-LO-vich) says the landfill does stand out in stark contrast to the forested mountains surrounding it. But he says thirty years ago, things were even worse. Before Alliance moved in, the site was a town dump — and before that... a strip mine.

It looked like you landed on the moon. That's what it looked like. Now when you come off of Davis Street Exit on 81, it's green. So there's a big difference there.

When Alliance arrived, they started moving the dump into a regulated lined landfill, that prevents anything from leaking into groundwater... Methane gas generated from the decaying garbage is collected and sold as natural gas.

Alliance is also required to set up a fund that pays for tests of water and air contamination on-site for thirty years after the landfill closes.

But Old Forge resident Bill Toman says there's no good way to eliminate all the smells and sounds coming from the landfill, even though he does agree proper trash disposal is important.

Our problem isn't landfills as much as where it's at. It's the proximity to my house, to the population. It's like putting a landfill in a residential area. If you put this farther away, perhaps it wouldn't have the resistance that it does here.

The landfill currently has enough space to accept trash for four more years. But if the expansion appeal is approved, Alliance could operate on-site for another twenty years.

More information's available on the web at GreenWorks.tv. I'm Brad Linder.