Scavenging birds remain a problem at many landfills around the world, but their foraging became a grave concern at Fresh Kills in the months following 9/11. PETERNUNES PHOTOGRAPHY/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
In the days after September 11, 2001, workers continuously shuttled between Manhattan and Staten Island, eventually delivering more than 1.8 million tons of debris from Ground Zero by barge and truck to the Fresh Kills Landfill. Once the largest landfill in the world, Fresh Kills had been closed for good just six months earlier, after more than 50 years of accepting New York City’s garbage. When wildlife biologist Richard Chipman arrived at the site on September 18, he says there was only one word to describe the scene: chaos.
“There was a lot of activity—a lot of people in close proximity to the debris and in close proximity to lots of vehicles moving up and down the hills, lots of dust . . . oozing ...
