Power plants, chemical factories, oil refineries and similar dirty industries generate huge amounts of dangerous garbage: used chemical solvents, waste oil and a wide variety of other industrial sludge. It costs money to legally dispose of such nasty substances—dirty industries have it, but they don’t want to spend it.

As an alternative to legal disposal, these industries have for years implored the government to let them burn these wastes as fuel for their operations—similar to coal or oil, but far dirtier and generating more dangerous emissions for workers and residents who live nearby. Incredibly, the Obama administration acquiesced and classified such burning as a form of “recycling,” allowing these facilities to burn their garbage without facing the stringent air pollution controls typically placed on facilities that burn industrial waste. In addition, the Obama EPA green lighted burning of whole tires, asphalt and chemically treated wood waste at these facilities, further jeopardizing public health and well being.

Earthjustice is representing a coalition of community groups in a lawsuit that seeks to close this egregious and outrageous legal loophole.