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Concern over proposed waste treatment center

Posted at 5:45 PM, May 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-12 18:01:01-04

INDIANAPOLIS – "Not in our backyard" is now the growing cry from one southwest-side neighborhood after people there learned about a proposal to move a waste-treatment center to their area.

Right now the city’s zoning board is considering letting Advanced Waste Services of Indiana make the move.

It would sit near Holt Road near Sam Jones Expressway in a 9.8-acre lot that sits directly across the street from homes and a block away from an elementary school.

The plant would process non-hazardous waste for recycling or disposal.

But the company says plainly in writing, it’s possible hazardous materials could be brought in by trucks and stored until they find another plant that can process them.

One resident says it’s a huge concern for him in his longtime home.

“You won’t be able to sell your home – you won’t be able to give it away,” Robin Jackson said. “Nobody wants to live near a waste treatment plant…. Something could be released – a spill.”

The city told us part of the plan for the plant is to use a biofilter system, which can reduce any smell or excess emissions.

But until Advanced Waste can give a 100-percent promise that it won’t have hazardous materials, homeowners say the land needs to be left alone.

Those neighbors will be raising their concerns Tuesday when the zoning board votes on the issue at 1 p.m. The meeting is in the Public Assembly Room on the second floor of the City-County Building. You’re welcome to attend if this affects you.

RTV6 reached out to Advanced Waste for comment but we have not yet received a response.

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