Growing opposition to a proposed recycling site has spurred El Dorado County to take a fresh look at how it handles refuse.
County supervisors also have agreed to involve the petition signers and other critics in the planning but said a new recycling center will remain key.
Residents Involved in Positive Planning Inc. formed earlier this year to protest plans to upgrade and move a privately run recycling center to a light-industrial park in Diamond Springs and has been circulating petitions countywide. As of Tuesday, the group reported 4,400 signatures.
Petitioners say the site would increase traffic and cause other problems for nearby homes, schools and businesses.
Residents at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting appeared eager to be involved in the waste management planning. Several said they had researched technologies, such as waste-to-energy systems, and urged the board to take advantage of the information.
"It would be my hope that the public is involved at more than just a cursory level," Diamond Springs resident Chris Gaither told the supervisors.
County staff members are talking about a recycling facility that would meet western El Dorado County's needs for 20 years, but Gaither said the county should look 30 to 50 years ahead for its recycling facility.
County officials say the current recycling center on Throwita Way, off Highway 49, cannot serve the growing population. Although the county meets the current state requirement to recycle or compost 50 percent of solid waste, Gerri Silva, environmental management director, has said the required diversion rate is expected to increase.
Area residents, however, say the best site would be the former Union Mine Landfill, but county officials say it doesn't meet criteria for a recycling center site.
The board, however, called for further study of the Union Mine site.
Supervisor Ron Briggs said some properties that met the criteria were likely to draw as much opposition as the Diamond Springs location. They include sites off Durock Road in the the Cameron Park-Shingle Springs area, and in the Apple Hill, Latrobe and South Shingle Road areas.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 608-7451.
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