Howard County leaders, residents debate location of controversial plastic recycling plant
Howard County residents are fighting back to stop chemical company W.R. Grace & Co. from building a pilot plastic recycling plant for research in their Columbia neighborhood.
The Howard County Council recently voted down a zoning change that would have prohibited the incineration of plastic in residential areas. The decision passed with a 3 to 2 vote, but residents appealed.
On Tuesday, a lawyer representing county residents tried to prove that W.R. Grace breached zoning laws while the company argued that they abided by the rules.
The residents' lawyer said the Department of Planning and Zoning violated county zoning laws by approving the facility, claiming the facility operations constitute manufacturing, not research and development, and therefore should be restricted to areas zoned for industrial use.
However, W.R. Grace officials said they never violated any zoning laws.
"This is about the decision that the Department of Planning and Zoning made in September of last year, that there were no existing violations on the site," said Tom Coale, the lawyer for W.R. Grace.
Residents from the Cedar Creek and Village of River Hill neighborhoods are calling for a 1,800-foot buffer between neighborhoods and facilities that require an emissions permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).
"I'm just appalled and I can't even believe this can possibly be approved so close to neighborhoods," said Howard County resident Andrea Levinson, who lives about two miles from the proposed plant.
Howard County councilmember Deb Jung, who was one of two votes in favor of the zoning changes to keep the plastic pilot plant out of the community, told WJZ she welcomes businesses like W.R. Grace looking to expand in Howard County, but not at the expense of her constituents' quality of life.
"Nobody is against this activity, we're just against this activity in the midst of residences," Jung said.
Pollution concerns
Howard County residents have raised concerns about the potential pollution the plant would emit and the impact on the community's health.
"There are kids everywhere and these chemicals cause cancer," asthma, autoimmune, all kinds of things," Levinson said.
During a public hearing in February, some residents said they weren't opposed to the recycling plant, but just the location.
"Too close is too close," said Howard County resident Leonard Boyd. "There's still a danger of an explosion, and why is it so close to residential? So even if every case they are making is true, why not build it away from communities?"
W.R. Grace says plant will be "safe and effective"
W.R. Grace & Co. told WJZ that the plant will not burn plastic, but will be to study a potentially game-changing innovation for recycling plastic that is safe and effective.
"Grace is proud to be headquartered in Howard County and to contribute to its scientific and economic legacy by conducting meaningful, safe and properly permitted R&D at our world-class facility for more than 60 years," W.R. Grace said in a statement. "With this new project, we will not burn plastic, as some who misunderstand our project and our intentions have asserted. Rather, we are studying a potentially game-changing innovation for recycling plastic – a safe and effective way to solve a problem facing us all."
W.R. Grace added, "If passed, this ZRA would set a harmful precedent that would repel institutions and employers away from Howard County. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) process is designed specifically to evaluate the safety of projects like ours, and we are committed to faithfully and fully following that process."
The company says their research shows the plant could reduce energy use, improve air emissions, and help keep plastic out of landfills and oceans.
