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Trash Site Proposal Raises Concerns In Albuquerque's North Valley

Ed Williams-KUNM

About one hundred people showed up to a City of Albuquerque public meeting Tuesday on a proposal to build a trash transfer center in the North Valley.

Under the proposal garbage trucks would drop the city’s trash at a 75,000 square foot waste transfer station at the corner of Edith and Griegos - then larger trucks would haul the trash off to the dump.

Jane Foster lives in the neighborhood and, like many who attended, says she worries the plan will harm people living nearby.

“I’m concerned about health impacts, I’m concerned about noise, I’m concerned about property values, and I’m concerned about the health of the children that are going to school within a half mile of this facility,” she said.

City officials say impacts to the community will be minimal, and that the plan would save money and reduce emissions by cutting the number of trips garbage trucks make to the dump. 

There will be more public meetings and the New Mexico Environment Department would have to approve a permit before the city could break ground.

Ed Williams came to KUNM in 2014 by way of Carbondale, Colorado, where he worked as a public radio reporter covering environmental issues. Originally from Austin, Texas, Ed has reported on environmental, social justice, immigration and Native American issues in the U.S. and Latin America for the Austin American-Statesman, Z Magazine, NPR’s Latino USA and others. In his spare time, look for Ed riding his mountain bike in the Sandias or sparring on the jiu-jitsu mat.
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