The Baldwin Park Planning Commission gave a brief update Oct. 9 on the hotly contested materials recovery facility and transfer station being planned by Irwindale officials.
The facility, which would be constructed in a wide dirt lot located between Arrow Highway and Live Oak Avenue in Irwindale, is having a draft environmental impact report written. It's completion could come within the next few months, officials said.
The materials recovery facility has been in the planning stages for at least four years. Baldwin Park officials and residents have been against the facility from the start.
In years past, Manuel Lozano, mayor of Baldwin Park, expressed concern in a letter to Irwindale officials that the facility would generate thousands of truck trips per day and operate within a short distance from Margaret Heath Elementary School.
In 2009, around 200 concerned residents appeared at an Irwindale City Council meeting to protest the facility, worrying that the facility will increase noise and pollution, to not only the air, but water supplies as well.
The materials recovery facility would specialize in sorting out solid waste from recyclable materials, including cardboard, paper, wood, metal, concrete, yard waster and soil, Irwindale officials said.
The materials recovery facility could possibly capture an additional 1 million tons of recyclable materials per year, Irwindale officials said.