July 27, 2026New community power story: "One Less Polluter in Armourdale"
Announcement
RiSE4EJ and Coming Clean partnered to tell an inspiring story of community power and organizing in Kansas City. "One Less Polluter in Armourdale" shows how a community facing the cumulative impacts of pollution stood up to Reworld, a private-equity backed company with a history of operating harmful trash incinerators under the name Covanta. In 2025, after months of committed organizing, community members successfully discouraged the company from seeking a special use permit to operate a new waste processing facility in their neighborhood.
"This win belongs to the people," said Beto Lugo Martinez, Executive Director of RiSE4EJ. “It’s proof that grassroots power works and that when communities come together, we can protect our health, our air and our future."
"The campaign succeeded despite limited staffing and resources," said Atenas Mena, Environmental Health Director at RiSE4EJ. "We had to quickly and creatively overcome challenges and barriers to secure accessible meeting spaces, meet tech needs, stay on top of changing timelines, navigate the complex permitting process, support language-access needs, and keep the community informed as new information emerged. It brings me pride to share that even despite this difficult process, community members continued showing up, asking questions, gathering information, speaking publicly, and supporting one another. Our win wasn't just the withdrawal of the proposal. It was also the power of sustained community leadership, relationship-building, and collective action."
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