Officials with Hazex Construction are hoping a recent site plan approval will allow the company to add more to the services it provides.
The Henderson-Henderson County Joint Planning Commission Tuesday night unanimously approved a site plan that will allow the construction company located at 1890 Madison St. to expand two current landfills, while also adding another landfill and a composting area.
The expansion comes after legislation passed in the most recent state General Assembly, HB 478, which allows businesses with an “off-site construction or demolition waste disposal” permit to extend current landfills that are less than one acre to two acres.
Chuck Orth, the controller for Hazex, said he asked state Rep. Jonathan Dixon about this piece of legislation, which had been proposed previously, before the General Assembly session began and was excited that local legislators were able to help get it pushed through.
The site plan Hazex presented Tuesday night included a current landfill at .95 acres extending to 2 acres and another current landfill at .99 acres extending to 2 acres. Also included was the construction of a new 2-acre landfill, which Orth said would also require a variance from the state Department for Environmental Protection.
The site plan also includes a 5-acre composting area that will be open for the public to both provide materials to be composted and to purchase once composting is complete.
Orth said the composting area could open as soon as state environmental protection department approves the company’s requests, which could be as soon as next week, but could be later.
Acceptable materials for composting include:
- Tree limbs
- Leaves
- Grass clippings
- Paper
- Untreated and unpainted wood
Hazex won’t accept food waste for composting when it starts the operation, but Myles Scott, the certified compost manager at the company, said it might be an option later.
Scott said there are numerous other materials that can be composted, and he’d like to look into finding ways for that to happen at Hazex.
Scott is enthused about the possibilities for several reasons. Materials that would normally go into landfills could be composted instead, saving landfill space, Scott said.
He added that local governmental agencies currently need to haul materials to the landfill in Daviess County. Increased space in Hazex landfills and the ability to compost materials there would allow those agencies to use Hazex instead and save money in hauling fees, Scott said.
He said it will also help local businesses that would be able to dispose of compostable materials at Hazex instead of the local dump or one farther away.
Orth said much of the work Hazex does involves dirt, concrete and demolition. The composting will allow the company to “expand our activities a little bit into other areas,” he said.
Hazex has been in business in Henderson for 75 years and at its current location since 1970, Orth said.