Rich Guerard, attorney for property owner Jim Kreuger and recycler Southwind RAS of Bartlett admitted to commissioners there were toxic chemicals bound up in old shingles but said all the company planned to do was grind them into something about the size of coarse sand. "Thousands of houses around the (site) have asphalt shingles," he said. "If they don't have (pollution) it makes sense this doesn't either."
Perhaps reacting to an anonymous flier warning of asbestos contamination, Commissioner Bill Dustin wanted to know how Southwind would prevent that. VP Matt Vondra said his workers know what asbestos shingles look like but they've literally never seen any at the company's other recycling plants. He said they don't show up because roofing contractors search for them avidly in order to extra for "remediation" instead of a simple roof tearoff.
Only a handful of residents attended the hearing. Cindy Heidman from LITH's nearby ABC school of cosmetology was more worried about increased traffic than pollution. Opposition came mainly from Cary residents. Most outspoken was Robin Engles, homeowner in a Cary subdivision to the northwest. She called on LITH to conduct independent studies on shingle recycling saying, "You really, really need to look into this."
The LITH Village Board still has to approve the zoning change from Ag to Light Manufacturing and accept the land into the Village now that it's been de-annexed from Cary. That's scheduled Jan. 10.
In the pic: The proposed recycling site's in the middle of the Hanson gravel quarries in Lake in the Hills.
2 comments:
Since when does the LITH Board -- or anyone in LITH government -- listen to the concerns of its citizens?
AMEN!
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