South Bay Incinerator
| South Bay Incinerator | |
|---|---|
 The South Bay Incinerator interior in 1988 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | 70 South Bay Avenue, Roxbury, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42°20′3.50″N 71°3′56.78″W / 42.3343056°N 71.0657722°W |
| Status | Inactive |
| Construction began | December 1956 |
| Commission date | 1961 |
| Decommission date | 1975 |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Organic waste |
The South Bay Incinerator was a waste-to-energy plant located in Roxbury, Boston.
History
The South Bay Incinerator is situated on a 5-acre (20,000 m2) lot, was sold to the Boston public works in an auction in late 1950s.[1] The building—241 feet (73 m) in width and 200 feet (61 m) in length, with three chimneys—was built between December 1956 and January 1958, and costed $6,500,000. Opened in 1960, it could destroy 600–900 tons of waste per day (225,000 pounds per hour),[2] between six furnaces,[2] a capability it failed to reach, due to being operated by inexperienced workers.[3] It shrunk the weight and height of waste by 75% and 90%, respectively, which is typical of an incinerator of its type. The steam produced by it was recycled; it heated the Boston City Hospital and was turned to electricity by the Boston Edison Power Station, as well as itself creating hot water as it incinerated.[3]
The furnaces of the South Bay Incinerator—known as "single charges", which were fueled by oil—caused 42% of its waste to combust and send smoke through its three chimneys;[2] it failed to meet regulations by the 1970s, and at some point, was declared a Superfund by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.[4] It closed on August 1, 1975, by order of a Suffolk County judge.[3] The building was demolished in 1997, following advocation from locals.[5]
References
- ^ Flaherty, John F. (3 December 1958). "Boston South Bay Incinerator — the Events Leading To Its Construction" (PDF). Boston Society of Civil Engineers. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
- ^ a b c Eddy Jr., Harrison P. (3 December 1958). "Boston South Bay Incinerator — Design and Construction" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-07-31.
- ^ a b c Boston (Mass. Mayor's Office of Energy Conservation (1978). The incinerator at south bay, its history and future. Boston Public Library.
- ^ US EPA, OSRTI. "SOUTH BAY INCINERATOR (FORMER) Site Profile". cumulis.epa.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
- ^ Shutkin, William A. (2001-08-24). The Land That Could Be: Environmentalism and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century. MIT Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-262-26458-7.