Rutherford County has opened up a dialogue with its citizens on the contentious issue of the Middle Point Landfill expansion. As reported earlier this month, the county is seeking public input on whether it should continue to shoulder the burden of Middle Tennessee's waste. Middle Point Landfill, being the largest in the state, handles a whopping 1 to 1.3 million tons of trash annually, according to Rutherford County.
In an outspoken move against the landfill's growth, the Rutherford County Commission voted against permitting an expansion of the landfill in April 2018. Echoing this sentiment, Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr has maintained a hard stance, upholding a promise that resonated with his campaign rhetoric three years prior. "As I have previously stated, I am committed to representing the citizens of Rutherford County to the best of my ability. The request for Middle Point to continue to use Rutherford County as the trash can for the state of Tennessee is absurd. No amount of money is worth the health and well-being of our community; hence, I do not support allowing Middle Point to use the old Rutherford County landfill to bury trash in order to contaminate our water source for the next 50 years or so. We are saying no to 700,000 tons of outside trash brought into our county and buried annually" Carr said, as per the information available on the county's official website.
With the future of Rutherford County's landscape at stake, locals are encouraged to partake in a pivotal conversation on the matter. Interested members of the community are being directed to a survey found on HelpRutherford.org where they can express their positions on the landfill's proposed expansion.
