06. Graves Island

Graves Island is a far more insidious influence on the environment than the comparatively clean electrical plant at Red Beach. Unlike many of the distinct regions in Newcastle, Graves Island is almost entirely devoid of residential land use, which makes it possible for the plant to get away with the more egregious sanitation violations it commits on a daily basis. Sure, workers get sick every now and then, but it’s not like any of the locals are suffering. (Of course, that’s because there are no resident locals, to speak of.) The whole island is a marshy mess, with service roads collapsing after heavy rains. It reeks of untreated waste, and occasional “bog fog” renders the plant invisible from the Newcastle mainland and difficult to see on the island itself. The whole locality feels two or three degrees hotter than the rest of the city on any given day.

Background

Similar to Red Beach Electrical Power Plant, the Graves Island Waste Plant is operating beyond its capacity. Unfortunately, it’s just beyond its window of “good enough.” Sixteen years ago, the city’s Utilities Director plundered a renovation budget allocated to Graves Island and made for Buenos Aires. The mayor covered up the scandal then, and none of the subsequent mayors ever knew corruption was to blame. All they know is that Graves Island is trying to keep up with the city’s needs. They don’t look any more deeply into the books than they need to. Nobody wants to be the mayor under whom the “Great Newcastle Shitstorm” takes place.

Alternative Name(s)

Waste Plant

Type

District

Location under

New Castle