Local farmers and residents are urging county officials to address persistent litter problems along routes used by trucks traveling to and from Prairie View landfill.
The issue emerged during public comments at Wednesday’s landfill committee meeting, with committee member Dan Butler speaking on behalf of the agricultural community.
“I’m just speaking for members of the farming community outside of the landfill and that there’s a real problem with debris everywhere on the streets all alongside when the trucks are coming in,” Butler said. “I would ask that this committee look into that and possibly remedy that and have these streets cleaned up.”
A community member who spoke after Butler reinforced these concerns, specifically mentioning issues along the county highway connecting Interstate 55 to Route 53.
“The county highway is consistently littered with garbage,” the resident said. “I wish there was a way to figure out how to monitor these trucks or do a better job of covering them up.”
The resident noted that despite making multiple calls to the county’s Department of Transportation, the problem persists and is “very hard to keep up with.”
While no immediate solutions were proposed during the meeting, the comments highlighted a side effect of landfill operations that impacts areas well beyond the facility itself.
The issue of roadside debris comes as the county considers expansion plans that could extend the landfill’s operational life by up to 35 years, which would mean continued truck traffic for decades to come.
The committee did not formally respond to these concerns during the meeting, nor did they indicate whether the debris issue would be addressed as part of the expansion planning process.
Currently, thousands of trucks travel to Prairie View landfill annually, with routes including major highways and county roads that pass through both rural and developed areas.
The landfill committee’s next meeting is scheduled for May 13, when the debris concerns could potentially be revisited as part of ongoing discussions about facility operations.
