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The '''Mobro 4000''' is a [[barge]] made famous in [[1987]] for hauling the same load of [[trash]] along the east coast of [[North America]] from [[New York]] to [[Belize]] and back before a way was found to dispose of the garbage. Chartered by [[entrepreneur]] Lowell Harrelson and Long Island mob boss Salvatore Avellino, it set sail on [[March 22]] from [[Islip, New York]] escorted by the [[tugboat]] ''[[Break of Dawn]]'' and carrying 3,168 [[ton]]s of trash headed for a pilot program in [[Morehead City, North Carolina]] to be turned into [[methane]]. Before the barge could reach its destination a rumor began that it contained [[Biological hazard|medical waste]] prompting state officials to rescind Harrelson's permit. The barge then proceeded along the coast looking for another place to offload and continuing to meet stiff resistance. The [[Mexico|Mexican]] [[navy]] denied it entrance to their waters. It made it as far south as [[Belize]], again being rejected, before returning to New York. Upon arrival it was met with a [[temporary restraining order]] and a heated legal battle preventing it from docking. In [[October]] the trash was finally [[incinerator|incinerated]] in [[Brooklyn]] and the resulting ash was buried back were it started, in Islip.
At the time, the Mobro 4000 incident was widely cited by [[environmentalist]]s and in the media as evidence that the [[United States]] was facing a solid waste disposal crisis due to an imminent shortage of [[landfill]] space. It triggered much
Later analysis of the situation has shown little evidence of an impending crisis at the time. According to the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]], the Mobro 4000 incident was caused by a combination of poor decision making by local Islip public officials and short-term difficulties triggered by changing [[environmental regulation]]s.
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