MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Residents in a Memphis neighborhood are taking action when it comes to keeping a proposed landfill out of their neighborhood.
One man said he hopes strength in numbers will change city leaders’ minds before dump trucks start rolling.
“I don’t want the dump in my backyard,” Grady Bennett said. “I don’t want it here and the community where I live, we don’t want it here.”
The construction landfill is proposed for 85 acres east of Jackson Avenue and Interstate 40 in the Nutbush area. The construction company planning it said in documents it submitted to the county that the development would not damage surrounding properties, and would serve as an economic engine for the neighborhood.
Bennett says the dump site would ruin the air quality, and that’s a major concern since some of his neighbors rely on oxygen tanks already.
On top of that, he’s worried about the traffic and safety issues and congestion it could cause in the already-packed school zones at Jackson Elementary and Wells Station.
“Traffic is lined up on each side and there’s hardly room for vehicles to get down that road,” he said. “I don’t see how dump trucks would be able to make it down that road.”
He also worries about dangerous fumes that could make it into the air or, even worse, the water, since the Wolf River runs through the neighborhood, too.
To keep the construction landfill from happening, they’ve started a petition on charge.org that has more than 320 signatures.
Their goal is 500 by Dec. 13, when the project will be considered by the Land Use Control Board.
“You can have it in the county, you can have it somewhere else that is large enough to hold it,” Bennett said.
