WastAway odor blasts Bellaire
Many of the residents of the Bellaire subdivision have detected odors emitted from WastAway’s garbage recycling since processing the county’s garbage began.
Many of us no longer walk the neighborhood or spend time on our patios due to the intense odor. At times the smell is mild such as a slight smell of burnt plastic and or burnt grease. Other times the odor is extremely strong and smells like burnt or raw garbage. At times the odor has been so strong that several in the neighborhood have stated it nearly made them sick.
WastAway officials admit they have an issue with odors emitting from their plant and have stated they are working on ways to resolve the smell. However, prior to the plant being located within the former Aquatech plant, WastAway assured the town of McMinnville there would be no odor, no emissions, and that the residents around the plant would not have any problems.
Per the article appearing in the Sept. 22, 2002 Southern Standard titled “Not everyone pleased with WastAway,” Wade Sparkman stated, “Even though we don’t have any emissions from it, there’ll be no smell. Even if for some odd reason we did, your zoning codes are very strict on that, as far as this new building is involved.”
People living outside the area of WastAway could say it wouldn’t be hard to tolerate a little odor since this means jobs for Warren County. During this time of economic hardship and a high jobless rate, we of Bellaire are for new jobs and promoting new industries for McMinnville. However, the cost should not be to our quality of life.
If the plant were located outside the city limits where it would not have an impact on surrounding residents, or if the odor was to be somehow eliminated, we wouldn’t oppose the plant.
Anyone who says the smell should be tolerated, try placing a bag of rotten potatoes beneath your kitchen counter and see how long your are willing to live with the smell.
Sincerely,
Ronald F. Southard
David T. Lyle
Peggy Couch
Maria Renteria
Eva Zuidema
James Sandlin
Allen and Beverly Carpenter
Hannah and Maiverine Romans
Cecil Minton
Joe Powers
Dow Yates