Flag-retirement first of its kind

LAFAYETTE — About 800 pounds of American flags were burned and retired on Jan. 7 at Abbey Glen Pet memorial Park, in a ceremeony hosted by the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority.

The flags were stockpiled over time and Abbey Glen lent its crematory for the MUA's use.

“We started talking about getting an event like this together about two-and-a-half years ago,” Recycling Coordinator and Safety Officer Renee Casapulla said. The M.U.A. used to bring any retired flags to the American Legion in Franklin to be disposed of, but when they found out the American Legion was unable to burn them in an open pit, the MUA was forced to start looking for other options.

Casapulla said Abbey Glen is permitted as a pet crematory and memorial park.

“They do not burn medical waste at their facility,” Casapulla said.

Proprietors Derek and Kevin Cooke also manage a medical waste disposal company they contract with the Sussex County M.U.A.

“The proprietors needed to have the approval from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection to allow us to burn flags since their facility’s permit does not include combustion of flags,” Casapulla said.

For the ceremony, the state D.E.P. Division of Air and Hazardous Materials Enforcement issued a limited approval to the Abbey Glen Pet Memorial Park to combust the flags in the county M.U.A.’s possession.

Beginning with a bugle call, “To the Colors,” performed by Bob Caggiano of Hardyston, the ceremony mirrored the National Convention of The American Legion “Ceremony for the Disposal of Unserviceable Flags,” per the United States Flag Code, Section 176 which states: “The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way.”

Caggiano says the call is typically played in place of the National Anthem. Volunteer for Bugles Across America and member of the Vietnam Veterans of America and Franklin American Legion Post 132, Caggiano served in the Air Force for four years and a year in the International Guard.

“[Casapulla] and I have been talking about doing a ceremony like this for a long time,” he said. “Like she mentioned, the S.C.M.U.A. used to bring the flags over to our American Legion Post by the truckload. On Flag Day, we always had a flag retirement ceremony.”

According to Caggiano, flags used to be made out of wool or cotton.

“That didn’t cause any problems," he said. "But today, flags are made out of nylon, polyester-based fabrics and other synthetic material. In burning them, we would be worried about having our Boy Scouts and other youth around breathing in the toxic fumes.”

The only acceptable ways to dispose of a flag are by burning and burying. Caggiano says the reason flags cannot be buried at the Franklin American Legion Post is because of lack of ground and “then, you’re taking the toxic chemicals and putting them into the ground rather than into the air.”

American Legion Post 491 Sussex-County Commander Brian Keenan said the ceremony was the first of many to come. “This is being done on a county-wide basis," he said. "We’re hoping this will continue on a county-wide level in the future for the efficiency of getting flags retired properly.”

Caggiano said he asked the Picatinny Arsenal if they could use the incinerator there to burn the flags, but was rejected. Then the only other place they could go was South Jersey, but bringing the flags down there was cost prohibitive.

"We can send the flags away and have them properly destroyed, but it costs $6 per flag," he said. "It's just ridiculous."

Vernon resident John Harrigan, president of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1002, will take the ashes of the flags from the ceremony to be buried at the Northern New Jersey Veterans Memorial Cemetery.