As Republic Services pushes to expand Coffin Butte Landfill in Oregon, the company is not telling local officials where the site’s toxic “garbage juice” is being sent.
That lack of transparency is raising fresh concerns for nearby residents, who could be affected by air pollution, fire risks, and future waste-management decisions.
What happened?
In May, Benton County formally submitted 13 questions about Coffin Butte’s operations, but Republic Services, the Phoenix-based owner of the landfill, answered only a small share of them, according to the Statesman Journal.
Earlier this year, Benton County commissioners rejected Republic’s request to expand the 178-acre landfill after the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued a $3 million penalty for 10 serious air-quality violations…