NH: Tell Your Senators to Oppose HB 1515

Over 10 years ago, we helped ban burning construction and demolition (C&D) waste in New Hampshire because it is dangerous to our health and environment. But now there’s legislation before the Senate that could bring the state backwards.

HB 1515 would allow a dramatic increase in the amount of C&D waste that can be burned in New Hampshire. C&D waste wood is routinely contaminated with toxics and harmful chemicals. Wood used in construction is often coated in lead- or mercury-laced paint or treated with chemicals, and when we burn it, these contaminants are released into the air we breathe.

Live in New Hampshire? Write to your senators today and urge them to oppose HB 1515.

In 2007, activists in New Hampshire passed leading public policy protecting public health and the environment by banning C&D waste incineration. The ban was overturned in 2016, allowing 10,000 tons of C&D waste to be burned per year. HB 1515 would permit corporations in the state to burn much more, as long as it’s used to make biofuel — which is framed as “renewable” energy, with no regard for the harmful effects on our health and environment. Burning wood that will release toxics and chemicals is not renewable energy, and it’s not the future we want to see.

We need policies that make sense for our health, our communities, and our future. Tell your senators to oppose HB 1515 today!