DeKalb Commissioner May promises to stand with residents against compost plant

South DeKalb residents are up in arms over an organic compost plant proposed for a tract of land at the Lafarge Quarry, located off of Highway 124 in unincorporated Lithonia.

DeKalb County Commissioner lee May, who represents District 5 where the plant is proposed, says he will stand with residents against Greenco Environmental, the compost company out of Barnesville, GA in Lamar County.

“Typically, I let the process go through until the day that we, as a board, make our decision, but I’m going to let you all know right now, I am not going to support this,” May said.

May’s about-face response follows a decision he made last year when he supported plans for a gasification plant to use wood chips and yard waste to convert “green energy” into electricity.

May said he supported the project because he believed the plant was in line with President Obama’s green initiatives, utilizing cleaner sources to make energy and provide jobs in a growing sector.

The DeKalb Board of Commissioners approved the project, despite angry protests from South DeKalb residents who said the plant would pose a health hazard.

The plant is to be constructed on Rogers Lake, located a few miles from the proposed compost plant.

Viola Davis, a community activist who helped to fight the gasification plant last year, says Greenco Environmental is in for a battle as well.

“We’re tired of these types of businesses coming into our community. We’re going to fight them every step of the way,” said Davis, who heads the Unhappy Taxpayers watchdog group, which has been at the forefront of a campaign against cellular telephone towers on school campuses in DeKalb.

DeKalb residents used the internet to get the word out about Greenco, e-mailing news stories that were published in Barnesville about the company.

Greenco was court-ordered to shut down in Barnesville last year because residents there complained of the stench.

Greenco says the 22-acre site it wants to initially lease for two years at the 115-acre Lafarge Quarry is ideal for composting.

The tract has a quarried pit that is 110 feet deep and a pond that would help reduce odors.

But Davis said she fears that if Greenco’s special land use permit is granted, Lafarge would expand recycling operations.

“To a large extent, there’s a lot of federal money out there now for companies to grab up to do these green energy projects. They go to areas where people are not aware of the health risks and they just think they can open up shop,” Davis said.

Attorney Michelle Battle, who is representing Greenco, said Tim and Melia Lesko are on the cutting edge of helping to save the environment. She said the couple used their life’s savings and took out a loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to launch the first-of-its kind operation in Georgia four years ago. As a new company, Greenco had to learn what worked and what didn’t, including figuring out the right formula to make the compost, Battle said. The mixture includes grass clippings, food waste, and water to make an organic, high quality soil mix. The company, she said, has diverted tons of food from landfills.

“When people say this is environmental racism, I have to say they simply do not understand composting. We can turn a deaf ear and say ‘We don’t want it,’ but eventually, we’re going to have to address the amount of waste that is gong to our landfills,” Battle said. “At some point, you’re going to be run over by your own trash.”

A community meeting about Greenco’s project will be held Feb. 28, 7p.m., at Antioch-Lithonia Missionary Baptist Church, 2152 Rock Chapel Road (Highway 124), Lithonia.