MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — It’s one of the largest landfills in the state of Tennessee, but what happens when Middle Point Landfill reaches max capacity?
Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland said on Thursday that he would rather not wait and find out, instead he offered a new solution involving multiple stakeholders.
He said contrary to what we’ve heard from Middle Point officials, the answer is not an expansion, “that would be disastrous for our residents, children and grandchildren.”
A new partnership with Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr would establish a “study group” meant to find more efficient ways of disposing solid waste.
“We have smart and thoughtful members in both of our governments. Now is the time to bring everyone together, and we are proposing that this group help tackle this generational issue,” McFarland said.
McFarland explained how it’s not sustainable to continue being the dumping ground for Middle Tennessee, where they estimate that roughly 70% of the solid waste dumped in Middle Point Landfill comes from outside the county — mainly Davidson.
Carr said among the first concerns for this group, which has yet to be established, would be discussing how to best utilize the Rutherford County transfer station and facilitate a southern transfer station.
Transfer stations collect trash and separate recycling, while often finding ways to turn waste into a renewable energy source.
Carr said it’s impossible to divert 100% of waste, so they may also consider using the preexisting Rutherford County Landfill as an option.
The landfill hasn’t been used in decades, but officials say this is a short-term solution intended to buy time for new technologies to emerge capable of recycling waste more efficiently.
The Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board turned down Middle Point’s expansion plans in 2023. A decision that a chancery judge later upheld, although Classen and attorneys have since appealed the decision.
McFarland acknowledged that allowing Middle Point Landfill to accept trash collected from other counties helps the county make money, “it is not beneficial to our resident’s health, safety and public welfare.”
“Middle Point is causing air pollution and water pollution and threatening our drinking water. The city has worked diligently over the past year to craft a settlement that addresses the environmental issues stemming from the defendant’s mismanagement of Middle Point Landfill,” McFarland said.
Complaints over smell and environmental impacts from Middle Point Landfill have been the subject of several NewsChannel 5 investigations, some of which found landfill gasses escaping the landfill at a rate that far exceeded state and federal regulations.
Murfreesboro opened a complaint portal and accumulated nearly 2,000 odor complaints in four months. Some varied from a smell creeping into neighboring homes waking them up at night, while others complained of headaches and nausea.
"I don’t think it’s great for your community to be recognized for having a place called Mount Trashmore where the people at our soccer facility complain about the smell. So, I think what we’re saying is there’s got to be better ways to do things," McFarland said.
The city of Murfreesboro filed a lawsuit that same year, alleging that Middle Point’s owners and parent company Republic Services, allowed for the landfill to contaminate air and local waterways.
“These environmental issues include the release of noxious odorous gases from the landfill into the surrounding community and the discharge of toxic landfill leachate into the city’s sewer system as well as into the surface water and ground water that flow into the East Fork of the Stones River,” McFarland said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked McFarland and Carr if reopening the Rutherford County Landfill would only compound any environmental issues with the nearby Middle Point Landfill.
Both agreed this would have to be a carefully monitored process, but say they would rather that responsibility fall on their colleagues and not a large corporation.
“When they’re our kids and our grandkids that we’re talking about, it’s a totally different equation that we’re working with, and I do believe this community is better suited to solve that problem than a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate,” Carr said.
Carr went on to say he’s not sure on a timeline for when to expect the study group to be formed or any decisions to be made about the existing landfill.
Middle Point representatives are expected to offer their own version of what the future could look like during next Tuesday’s Public Works and Planning Committee Meeting at the Rutherford County Historic Courthouse.
