MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Neighbors are outraged after learning a construction company is trying to put a landfill in the Nutbush area.
Grady Bennett lives on Davis Circle where an 85 acre landfill is proposed. It would be just inches from his backyard.
“I still don’t want it in my backyard. I would really like them to put it some where that has more acres. It could be in the county,” he said.
Bennett argues that the landfill would affect drinking water and the health of everyone in the area.
“They have ailments that if this landfill was to come in, it would make their ailments worse. I don’t want to see our air quality any worse than it already is. I don’t want to see our property values going down,” he said.
And he’s not the only one who feels that way.
Many emotions were revealed during a heated community meeting Sunday night where people learned more about Blaylock and Brown, the construction company wanting the landfill.
“The company I think is looking for some place to put this wast. And why they’re choosing low income communities in Memphis to put waste is really beyond me,” a resident said.
John Farris, the attorney for the company, says there’s a lot of misinformation about this.
He says the development would not damage surrounding properties and would serve as an economic engine for the neighborhood, similar to Shelby Farms.
Chairman Berlin Boyd told us if it makes it to City Council, he won’t support it or vote for it.
“The one thing that really bothers me is I noticed there’s a trend when a landfill is being proposed. Automatically people decide they want to come for District 7. I don’t want people to think they can dump on District 7,” he said.
The attorney for the company told us they want to invest in the neighborhood, put a soccer field there and make improvements to Jackson Elementary School.
There is a public hearing scheduled for Dec. 13 with the Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board.
