POLAND TOWNSHIP Landfill owner seeks OK for more

The company has offered about $250,000 in additional incentives.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- The owner of Carbon Limestone Landfill wants to take in more long-haul trash.
Poland Township Trustee Franklin Bennett said Browning Ferris Industries has asked that its contract with the township and Mahoning County be amended to increase the intake.
Long-haul waste is described as that coming from 150 miles or more.
Atty. David Shepherd of Warren has been hired to represent the township in negotiations with the company. He will be paid $125 per hour.
Agreement: Under the latest agreement, signed in 1997, the company can bring in 2,000 tons of long-haul waste per day, averaged over a six-day week. The maximum allowed on any given day is 2,500 tons.
Bennett said the company is looking to increase the average to 2,500 tons and the maximum one-day amount to 3,000 tons.
Bennett said it is important that residents understand that the total daily amount of waste -- local and long haul -- will not increase. He said there is a 6,500-ton daily limit on total intake.
A provision that requires the landfill to take all local waste before any long-haul waste can be accepted remains intact.
The company wants the long-haul increase because it is not meeting the overall daily limit.
Bennett said the township has enjoyed several contributions from the company, which is offering even more incentives in exchange for the long-haul increase.
He said that in addition to current donations, the company has offered about $250,000 worth of new incentives.
Complaints: Police Chief Carl Massullo said his department has received complaints from residents about the landfill.
He said several residents have voiced concern over the amount of truck traffic the landfill generates, clay and dirt being tracked onto U.S. Route 224 and debris that blows off the back of the trucks and often ends up on private property.
Trustee Annette DiVito, who recently toured the landfill in search of ways to address concerns, said trustees are willing to negotiate.
Bennett said trustees have sought public input on the issue and have received mixed responses.
"These discussions are still in the preliminary stages," said Bennett. "We are willing to discuss BFI's proposal, but I can't say if it will go through. Strong sentiment has been shown for and against it."
Representatives for BFI did not return several calls seeking comment.