Forsyth Residents Raise Stink Over Recycling Plant Expansion

A group of Forsyth County residents who are concerned about plans to increase the size of a local recycling plant and increase its capabilities to handle garbage are taking to Facebook to speak out.

“A Smelly Plan” is now in effect to halt the expansion of Advanced Disposal’s recycling center off of Highway 9 near the Super Walmart on Shirley Industrial Way in southern Forsyth County. If the expansion request is approved by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, the plant’s size would increase by 76,550 sq. ft. and begin handling municipal garbage. There is a waste transfer station already in operation nearby on Mauldin Road.

People who live near the area are concerned about the increased smell the plant would generate, along with potential infestation by vermin and traffic congestion due to an extra 115 vehicle trips through the area each day, WSB-TV reports. Concerned residents took to Facebook on July 24, creating A Smelly Plan and beginning a signature campaign on change.org to let county leaders know about their opposition to the expansion.

“This facility is located 3/4 of a mile due south from the entrance to several neighborhoods (as the crow flies),” the group wrote in its petition. Google Earth images were posted on the group’s Facebook page to illustrate how close the expanded site would be to several neighborhoods.

“This Advanced Disposal Expansion plan will greatly diminish local residents’ current quality of life, damage the infrastructure of the surrounding area and slowly strangle local businesses,” the petition continues. “Who wants to shop, dine or live in an area sandwiched between two garbage waste transfer stations littered with hundreds of garbage trucks, traffic congestion, vultures, noise pollution and atrocious smells?”