Loudoun County is one step closer to becoming a little bit greener.
The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday, Dec. 12, to forward a materials recovery facility to its next business meeting.
Ken Mogul, the president of Ace Waste Recycling Facility, was pleased with the Board of Supervisors’ decision to support his plan despite the lack of support received from the Office of Solid Waste Management.
MONICA GORMAN is a compliance specialist with the Office of Solid Waste Management.
She has reviewed Mogul’s proposal for a construction and demolition materials recycling center located off of Route 606 in Dulles.
The county already has three private centers, including Old Dominion, Sterling and Conserve Industries materials recovery facilities and transfer stations, in the eastern part of the county. The three facilities operate at an average of 40 percent.
"There is no need for another facility in Loudoun County," Gorman said.
Another waste facility means a few things, including an increased amount of truck traffic on local roads.
The facility would be located off of Route 606 in Dulles. The nearest residential neighborhood is Loudoun Valley II Estates located about a mile away.
"The neighbors don’t want the trucks going in front of their houses," Mogul said.
Mogul said he is aware of the neighbor’s concerns and has implemented a traffic project in his proposal, approved by the Planning Commission, Sept. 1.
Trucks will only travel on Route 606 and will not pass in front of any residential homes.
Tim Williams is a homeowner in Loudoun Valley II Estates. He said he does not want the waste management facility in his neighborhood because of the negative effects on his property value. The Dulles resident said he does not want to have to face truck traffic everyday and worries about the potential effects on the environment, such as water pollution.
"I believe these types of facilities should be kept away from residential areas," he said.
Williams said he does not want to live in the truck traffic every day.
Mogul also set up a citizen’s advisory committee that would help set up the recycling center.
"We’re a recycling company, so we’re a bit more aware of the environment that your run-of-the-mill company," Mogul said.
GORMAN HAS OTHER concerns for the county.
"New facilities may cause economic destabilization of existing private sector facilities," she said.
Mogul said the three existing facilities are not recycling centers, but waste transfer stations. They collect debris and ship them to other parts of the state.
"A real recycling facility is not a waste transfer station," Mogul said. "We recycle 95 percent of the materials that we handle."
Mogul also said the numbers the Office of Solid Waste Management are inaccurate. There is actually more waste generated in the area.
"There’s a lot more waste generated in this county than what is accounted for," he said.
He said his facility would generate new competition and would lower prices of construction waste removal, "in addition to the positive benefits to recycling," he said.
THE BOARD of Supervisors voted Dec. 12 to forward the proposal to its next business meeting.
The Planning Commission saw benefits to the recycling facility last month and advised the board to "expressly support recycling in the county," said chairman Scott York (I-At Large).
Mogul will need to obtain two permits, one from the county and one from the state, required after construction is complete, Gorman said.
"A facility cannot be permitted unless it is incorporated into the solid waste management plan," Gorman said. "The facility is not in the solid waste management plan currently."
Gorman said recycling other counties’ waste is not viable to the county.