Memphis Wrecking Co.
The Memphis Wrecking Co. landfill in Frayser.
A Memphis company is looking for new sites for a landfill after many voiced concerns about its expansion plans in Frayser.
Memphis Wrecking Co. (MWC) said in a news release Thursday its leaders are now looking at five sites in Hickory Hill, Cordova, and Raleigh.
Last month, company officials asked the Memphis City Council to delay a hearing on its planned expansion in Frayser. Officials spoke with community leaders in a discussion with council member Phillip Spinosa. Community members said the landfill’s location was the biggest concern “and would rather have a new landfill opened somewhere else in the city.”
“We still believe that it is less impactful to expand an existing landfill than open a new one, but we are trying to be responsive to the community,” said Carol Williamson, the company’s CEO.
Hannah Sayle
Fayser residents protest the Memphis Wrecking Company landfill.
MWC has pulled notices from Memphis Code Enforcement to review its five prospective sites. The company will host its first community meeting in Hickory Hill at the Hickory Ridge Mall on Thursday, Jan. 4 from 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
The company has owned a 24-acre landfill near the Northgate Shopping Center in Frayser for 10 years. The site is used only for the disposal of demolition and construction materials like trees, bricks, and asphalt used by the city of Memphis, Memphis Light, Gas & Water, and MWC.
The expansion, first proposed in 2015 and again in 2016, would add 34 acres to the landfill and make it next-door neighbors with the students and teachers at Whitney Achievement Elementary School.
According to the MWC website, its landfills don’t allow municipal trash or garbage and are environmentally friendly, only managing non-hazardous materials that mostly don’t emit odors or pollute the air and water.
The company said it needs to increase its capacity due to the increase of new new construction, demolition, and calls from the city looking for new landfill options.
[pullquote-1]“With only approximately two years left in our current Frayser site, MWC needs to expand or find a new location for the landfill,” Williamson said. “We are a locally-owned small business and need to continue to operate – the last thing we want to do is end 10 years of dedication to Memphis, the war on blight, and put our employees out of their jobs.”
MWC’s expansion plans are still scheduled for council review next week.
