A Scott County landfill could stop accepting Lexington solid waste this fall, potentially forcing the city to look elsewhere. The issue has Lexington council members wondering what role they should play in the dispute.
Lexington’s solid waste is currently transported by Waste Services of the Bluegrass to the Central Kentucky Landfill in Scott County. The waste service wants to expand that site, but Scott County is looking to scale back – with a plan that blocks out-of-county waste and limits the amount that can be dumped there.
The matter has now wound up in front of state officials. Tuesday, the council was divided over whether Lexington should weigh in with a resolution urging the state to allow expansion of the landfill.
"This is not a mandate," council members Kathy Plomin said. "Other counties have weighed in and it does have a pretty dramatic impact on us, our constituents."
But others were more hesitant to interfere.
"I realize that we're in a predicment here, but I also don't want to get involved in someone else's mitigated case on a state level," Susan Lamb countered.
Ultimately the council did put the resolution on the docket for a later vote.
Mayor Linda Gorton said Waste Services of the Bluegrass has pledged to locate alternate landfills for Lexington’s solid waste at no extra cost should the Scott County site shut off access.
