The Big Run Landfill took in its last load of East Coast garbage and closed its rail yard on Tuesday, a move that will lead to the layoff of about 50 employees. As part of an agreed order among county, state and industry officials, Big Run stopped taking in garbage from New Jersey and New York brought by rail into the 1,600-acre landfill between U.S. 60 and Interstate 64 two months ahead of schedule. “We’ve been working hard to get this done,” said Dean Kattler, chief executive officer for EnviroSolutions, which owns the landfill. “We’ve sold our New Jersey assets. We didn’t want to wait until the last minute.鈥�
The last train to bring solid waste to the Kentucky landfill left the rail yard Tuesday and a gate placed across the Sycamore Trail Transfer Station tracks. “I’m glad to see the trains go,” said Brad Maggard, a Cannonsburg area resident. “But I feel sorry for the next area to get them. No one should be subjected to the problems created by waste via rail.”
“My biggest hope is that our residents can enjoy their outsides and their barbecues without the odor from the rail cars this summer,” said Sean Borst, of the Boyd County Environmental Coalition, a landfill opponent.
“The large amount of waste coming in via rail was a significant problem in our community,” Borst said. “There are still many items that need to be completed over the next year under the agreed order of judgment. The next milestone will be the final capping of the old landfill by September 2016.”
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