In the 1990s, Boston sent Big Dig soil to a burning dump, turning it into a park
Boston’s massive Big Dig project produced more than 16 million cubic yards of soil, and nearly a quarter of it was sent to Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor. The island was once a city dump where methane gas caused underground fires. The soil helped cap the old landfill, reshape the island and support a long restoration effort that brought back trees, plants, birds and other wildlife.
