Penn State students and community activists remain concerned about a proposed landfill in Centre County, nearly five years after its initial proposal.

The landfill, proposed in June 2004 by Resource Recovery, LLC, a private development company, would be located on a 5,758-acre lot between Rush and Snow Shoe Townships, according to Resource Recovery's Web site.

Opposition has come from various groups and community organizations, including Penn State's own environmental club Eco-Action. One major criticism of the landfill is that a majority of the trash will be shipped in from New York and New Jersey.

"We don't support the landfill or the idea of Pennsylvania becoming a trash dump for New York and New Jersey," Carlo Sica (junior-geography), president of Eco-Action, said. "A landfill also has lots of environmental drawbacks."

Representatives of Resource Recovery did not respond to requests for comment.

Not only do opponents of the landfill challenge the origin of the trash, but they are also concerned about the means of trash transportation, said Robert Jacobs, the director of Centre County Planning Commission.

The original plan called for an access interchange to be built off of I-80, but Resource Recovery is now proposing to use rail transportation to ship the trash instead, Jacobs said.

Michele Barbin, an executive committee member of environmental group People Protecting Communities, believes that having more trucks on the road would be a problem for everyone and is also opposed to the idea of rail transportation, which would run through a trail area.

"With the railroad issue, they are looking to get whatever access they can," she said.

Rodney Preslovich, Snow Shoe Township Supervisors chairman, is against all possible routes for the landfill. If trash were sent down the rail line, a recreational trail currently running along the tracks would be shut down, he said. Increased truck traffic would especially affect Snow Shoe, Jacobs added.

"Majority of the access would come through Snow Shoe Township and residents disapprove," Jacobs said.

The residents of Snow Shoe and Rush wouldn't be the only ones affected by the landfill, Barbin said. She believes many people underestimate the widespread impact the landfill can have on Centre County.

"It's a regional issue," Barbin said, "and I wish more people in the State College area would understand that."