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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Recycling facility angers neighbors


Neighbors are upset about the dumping of construction debris in this vacant lot, shown Wednesday, at the corner of Crestline and Lincoln in Spokane. 
 (Christopher Anderson / The Spokesman-Review)

Mounds of wood, metal, drywall and other construction debris stand two stories and cover about three city lots at Crestline Street and Lincoln Road in north Spokane.

Old tires and a beat-up canopy from a pickup perch atop the piles.

According to the Washington Department of Ecology, though, this is not a dump. It’s a “materials recovery facility.”

Tell that to neighbors who have been fighting to get the site cleaned up.

The problem is that regulations for MRFs, as they are called, are nowhere near as stringent as for other solid waste operations.

In an effort to increase recycling, the state updated its rules to allow MRFs to open and operate without prior environmental reviews and health department oversight like that required for transfer stations or landfills, said Mike LaScuola, an environmental health specialist for the Spokane Regional Health District.

“With a waste transfer station it would need to have an application for a permit, a preconstruction conference and an (environmental) review before getting started,” said LaScuola.

Operators of materials recovery facilities need only submit an application 30 days before opening, he said.

“This is a new idea to encourage recycling, but it has a lot of growing pains,” said LaScuola.

The materials at the site fall within the law, but the owner has been ordered not to accept more, said Janis Gilbert, Ecology Department spokeswoman.

The recycling facility is being moved to 8504 N. Regal St., said Gilbert. Material from the Crestline site won’t be relocated, however.

“We want to take the time it takes to make sure the materials are recycled and not just moved to the other site,” she said.

Processing has been slow, say neighbors, who in addition to calling the operation unsightly, say it could be a health and fire hazard.

“No one ever checked him out or made sure he was doing his job properly,” said Rick Eickmeyer, chairman of the Morgan Acres Neighborhood Association.

Marsha Marcuson, the association’s vice chairwoman, lives about three-quarters of a mile away and says there are “fewer mountains” now than before. Still, she remained cautious about the site clearing process.

“It’s good that it is happening, but we don’t trust that it will keep happening,” Marcuson said.

The owner couldn’t be reached Wednesday for comment.

The Crestline and Lincoln operation was shut down not because it violated state law, but because the Spokane County Building and Planning Department ruled it didn’t meet local zoning regulations since it was too intense a use on too small a site, said LaScuola.

Gilbert added that the county ordered the facility operator to submit a cleanup plan by Wednesday. County officials could not be reached to confirm that.

Meanwhile, Marcuson is left wondering about the new operation and new recycling facilities that could be opened in other neighborhoods.

“Who’s watching this?” she asked, answering herself, “Nobody really is.”