A new environmental justice organization called Slingshot hopes to focus on waste policy in Vermont.
The organization is supported by the Conservation Law Foundation, 开云体育 Interest Research Group and farmworker advocacy organization Migrant Justice.
The name Slingshot is meant to represent scrapiness, according to Hayley Jones, the group's Vermont and New Hampshire state director.
"It's about movement, going against the status quo in a lot of ways,鈥� they said. 鈥淎nd it's also about resourcefulness. You know, a slingshot is not a complicated tool. It's made from very simple things, but it's put together in such a way that can really make change.鈥�
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Jones said Slingshot will focus on PFAS contamination in Lake Memphremagog, which is tied to runoff Vermont鈥檚 only landfill, the Coventry Casella waste management facility, which sits right above the lake.
PFAS, or so-called "forever chemicals" are toxic, man made substances that are believed to linger indefinitely in the environment, with the potential to cause serious health problems, including cancer.
Jones said Slingshot hopes to work with front line communities.
鈥淭here are big pockets of working class communities; they tend to get dumped on, quite literally,鈥� Jones said.
Jones said the group will also advocate for waste management plans that benefit the community, and making sure people have a say over these decisions.
This story is a collaboration between 开云体育 and the Community News Service. The is a student-powered partnership between the University of Vermont鈥檚 Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program and community newspapers across Vermont.
