Community members in South Baltimore are taking a stand against the massive incinerator in their neighborhood. The South Baltimore Community Land Trust is filing a civil rights complaint with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against the Wheelabrator Incinerator, commonly known as Bresco.

“The residents of the South Baltimore community and those six communities surrounding Bresco are sick and tired of being the armpit for the Baltimore City urbanization,” said Cherry Hill resident Michael Middleton.

The group, assisted by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Environmental Integrity Project, conducted their own research as part of submitting the complaint. According to their findings, the pollution coming from the smoke stack falls throughout the community.

Some residents blame the incinerator for their health issues. “Where I’m obligated now to take medicine every day because I’m… waking up out of my sleep coughing up toxins,” said Angela Smothers of Mt. Winans.

The group hopes the complaint will lead to a formal investigation by the EPA, revealing the exact emissions from the incinerator and their impacts on the community.

In response, Mary Urban, WIN Waste’s Senior Director of Communications, released a statement defending the incinerator’s operations. “WIN Waste Baltimore safely converts residential and business waste into renewable energy. Following last year’s completion of $45 million in upgrades to its air-quality control systems, WIN Waste Baltimore is among the lowest-emitting waste-to-energy facilities in the world,” Urban said.

She further argued that the facility reduces greenhouse gas emissions by diverting waste from landfills and reducing the use of fossil fuels for energy. Urban also claimed that moving away from waste-to-energy would cost taxpayers roughly $100 million to expand local landfill capacity and build transfer stations to transport more waste out-of-state.

Ultimately, the South Baltimore Community Land Trust wants to see less waste burned at the incinerator and diverted to other facilities, citing concerns over the potential health impacts on the surrounding communities.