The Transfer Station examines the intermediary space that waste inhabits after leaving our homes and before arriving at its final destination. At the transfer station, trash and recyclables are sorted into different compartments by category, to be packaged and shipped off in tightly compressed bales to landfills, incinerators, and recycling centers across the country. While residential visitors carelessly toss unwanted belongings into designated bins without a second glance, the miscellaneous objects strewn about haphazardly on the ground seem to protest their abandonment.

Inspired by my fascination with things forgotten and left behind, I photographed the transfer stations of various towns in my home state of Massachusetts. What began as a purely sentimental project took on an environmental note as I glimpsed the consequences of consumerism and mass production in our modern society.

As landfills continue to close in Massachusetts, the state’s solid waste disposal capacity is projected to decline to virtually zero by the end of 2030. Already, over 20% of all waste managed in Massachusetts (1.64 million tons) is exported to out-of-state facilities. “The state will need to aggressively leverage its transfer station [...] and export market to reach more distant disposal facilities.” (Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, 2019)