A battle that has lasted more than a year to shut a controversial south suburban grass-composting site could reach a resolution this week, just in time for the mowing season.
The state`s largest grass-composting firm, Composting Corp. of America, will meet Wednesday with lawyers representing Cook County at a court hearing to determine how much yard waste the facility may accept.
The talks stem from a lawsuit filed by county, the village of Lynwood, and the state against the Ford Heights composting site, which has been cited for emitting noxious odors.
Under a interim order issued last week, the firm is accepting grass clippings only on a 3.5-acre ”all-weather pad,” instead of most of the 30 acres that it employed last season, said Assistant Cook County State`s Atty. Pam Zalutski.
Zalutski said at last week`s hearing that Composting Corp. ”will have to come up with some answers or we will bring the complaints and citations to trial and it could be shut down.”
Two dozen citations have been issued by the Cook County Environmental Control Department, based on complaints from residents of foul odors since since the facility opened in July 1990.
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”It smells like dead rotting fish,” said Maureen Drankiewicz, who has spearheaded the Lynwood citizens campaign to shut down the operation on U.S. Highway 30 near Torrence Avenue, just south of her community.
Grass composting is relatively new to Illinois, born in July 1990 when the state became one of the first to implement a ban on dumping yard waste in landfills.
The Ford Heights facility was one of 78 that opened across the state. It accepts grass from 38 communities and is co-owned by Burbank attorney Vincent Cainkar and Donald Clark, the owner of a garden center next to the composting site.
Both men were unavailable for comment. But the firm`s attorney, Robert Sklodowski, said they ”have agreed to implement the suggestions of two
(outside) experts to set aside the 3 1/2 (acres) for now.”
The controversy over the facility began heating up as soon as the grass began piling up.
Residents of the nearby Sandridge subdivision contended, among other things, that the odors of decaying grass caused their pets` hair to fall out, kept their children inside during recess at the neighborhood school, and severely restricted their outdoor activities.
The dispute escalated to the point last summer that Composting Corp. employees drove around the neighborhood with video cameras to capture residents enjoying their back yards, thus showing that the odor wasn`t so bad. ”But they only came around when the wind was blowing in the opposite direction,” said Drankiewicz. ”Look, we`re not against composting. It`s a good idea. We just think this facility was located in the wrong neighborhood strictly as an experiment. It was done without expertise and knowledge or experience.”
Since negotiations concerning the lawsuit began, two composting consultants, Krutz Brothers Inc. of Independence, Ohio, and Organic Recycling Inc. of Valley Cottage, N.Y., have been instructed by Cook County Circuit Judge Monica Reynolds to make recommendations on how to reduce the odors.
Zalutski said the recommendations include expanding the all-weather pad and the use of an odor-reducing additive used by mortuaries.
But that suggestion has concerned some residents, including Drankiewicz.
”Besides air quality, we`re also concerned about our ground water because we`re all on wells,” she said.