[1][2] BLARG's mission is to support direct efforts to attain environmental justice in the North Bellport community through the implementation of local and regional waste plans that are equitable, sustainable, measurable, and public.
[3] North Bellport is a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood with the lowest life expectancy on Long Island, and the second-highest rate of asthma in Suffolk County.
[5] BLARG was co-founded by several North Bellport community members, including Hannah Thomas, Dennis Nix, and Monique Fitzgerald.
[6] The group was officially established in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, emphasizing the need to identify systemic issues contributing to the premature deaths of Black individuals.
[9] In 2022, BLARG started its own successful Community Composting Collective and diverted tons of organic waste from Brookhaven Landfill, preventing significant amounts of methane gas from being generated and released into the atmosphere.