Sierra Blanca Sludge Ranch, Texas

Between 1992 and 2001, as many as 45 train cars per day brought sewage sludge from New York City to this 129,000 acre West Texas property, where it was spread out on the ground like peanut butter. The waste site was a former resort called the Mile High Ranch, and was owned by a Long Island New York company, Merco Joint Venture. The contract with New York City was terminated in June of 2001 (two of the company's owners were found guilty of bribing New York mafia bosses in the hope of influencing union officials), and the sludge ranch - one of the largest in the world - now sits idle. Merco filed for bankruptcy in 2002, resulting in the state of Texas purchasing the site from them.