 In October 1988, 4,000 pounds of the cargo was simply dumped off the coast of Haiti. One month later, when the Pelicano docked in Singapore, none of the ash was on board. At about the same time, the city of Islip, New York, sold 3,200 tons of its garbage to an Alabama businessman. He was going to sell it to North Carolina for disposal there. When environmentalists blocked his plans, he tried five other states and three foreign nations. He eventually had to sell it back to Islip.