Winds scatter landfill trash
BY Robert Wang
The Canton Repository
SANDY TWP - Heavy wind gusts Monday blew a large amount of trash from American Landfill onto Route 44 and Chapel Street SE as well as into several residents' yards.
The landfill's general manager, Jerry Ross, said the waste was primarily composed of plastic bags along with some paper. The wind blew the material from the area of the landfill where trash is dumped directly. It got so windy, he said, that the landfill had to halt operations at 3 p.m. A portable toilet also was blown away, Ross said.
Jill VanVoorhis, a township resident and president of Citizens Against American Landfill, said she saw several types of bags including toilet paper and insulation bags, that blew onto half a mile of Route 44 and a mile of Chapel.
"It's all over the trees. It's all over 44, and it goes clear over people's fields. It's everywhere ... just massive amounts. It looks like it snowed trash."
Except for one resident who said she saw three employees picking up trash, VanVoorhis said she nor most residents she spoke with haven't seen landfill employees cleaning up the waste.
Ross said he had a crew removing the waste until dark and that he expects 20 employees to resume the cleanup today. He said he sent employees door-to-door, telling residents the landfill would take care of the mess.
"It's a struggle. We're going to get it. We're going to make sure it's cleaned up."
VanVoorhis disputes Ross' statement that his workers were addressing the problem.
"It's not dark," she said. "We were there an hour ago, and there was nobody there. ... we should not have to live with trash strewn over our properties, and there's no attempt to pick it up.
"All this trash that has been lying around has been mixed with who knows what," she added. "Who knows what those bags laying in people's yards ... have been contaminated with."
The Canton Repository
SANDY TWP - Heavy wind gusts Monday blew a large amount of trash from American Landfill onto Route 44 and Chapel Street SE as well as into several residents' yards.
The landfill's general manager, Jerry Ross, said the waste was primarily composed of plastic bags along with some paper. The wind blew the material from the area of the landfill where trash is dumped directly. It got so windy, he said, that the landfill had to halt operations at 3 p.m. A portable toilet also was blown away, Ross said.
Jill VanVoorhis, a township resident and president of Citizens Against American Landfill, said she saw several types of bags including toilet paper and insulation bags, that blew onto half a mile of Route 44 and a mile of Chapel.
"It's all over the trees. It's all over 44, and it goes clear over people's fields. It's everywhere ... just massive amounts. It looks like it snowed trash."
Except for one resident who said she saw three employees picking up trash, VanVoorhis said she nor most residents she spoke with haven't seen landfill employees cleaning up the waste.
Ross said he had a crew removing the waste until dark and that he expects 20 employees to resume the cleanup today. He said he sent employees door-to-door, telling residents the landfill would take care of the mess.
"It's a struggle. We're going to get it. We're going to make sure it's cleaned up."
VanVoorhis disputes Ross' statement that his workers were addressing the problem.
"It's not dark," she said. "We were there an hour ago, and there was nobody there. ... we should not have to live with trash strewn over our properties, and there's no attempt to pick it up.
"All this trash that has been lying around has been mixed with who knows what," she added. "Who knows what those bags laying in people's yards ... have been contaminated with."
