New recycling company wants to be good neighbor, but residents recall 2015 "dust bowl"
Sacha Davis does not have fond memories of 2015.
That summer was a constant battle against dust floating over East Marginal Way from a construction debris recycling business just across the road and railroad tracks. Along with offensive odors, the white dust particles infiltrated her Flora Avenue house, landed on vehicles and became a major headache for residents near Marginal Way. The dust even triggered her child’s asthma prompting a hospital stay.
“There were times I walked out of my house and it would be hurting my throat,” Davis recalled.
Another Flora Avenue resident, Julie Johnson, noticed a change in air quality and increased traffic. “We wanted to be outside and to not feel like we were paying a price for that in the few nice months we have,” she said. A Facebook groupꟷthe Flora Dust Bowlꟷwas created. Others spoken to for this article said noise was also an issue.
The business, CDL Recycle/Drywall Recycling Services, closed in 2016 after a year of neighborhood complaints and flouted permit violations. It shut down after a vehicle accident damaged the main building.
Now, a new company is looking to begin operations at the same site located at 7201 E Marginal Way S. Managed Construction Site Recycling (MCS) plans to open by the end of the month.
In an interview with the Georgetown Gazette, MCS executives said they want to minimize impact on residents. They secured new permits from King County agencies and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and are awaiting approval from the Washington Department of Ecology. They plan to only accept “clean” leftover materials such as drywall, cement, wood and metal from new construction sites and not demolition projects. Netting and misting will control the dust. They will also tell trucks to stay on the main roads and not cut through neighborhood streets and end operations by 10 p.m. daily in compliance with a city noise ordinance.
“We are fully committed to being great neighbors,” CEO Mike Sheldon said adding that he understood the company would be held to a higher standard given what occurred before. “We don’t have people’s trust yet. We have to earn it.”
Sheldon was an employee at the site in 2015 and agrees it was a bad summer. The closure of another recycling facility in Auburn pushed more trucks to the site, he said. “It suddenly went from 200 trucks a day to 600 trucks a day and it just got overwhelmed. It was a very stressful summer,” he said. An improperly attached net allowed dust to escape on windy days.
DTG Recycle took over operations after the 2016 closure and sold the site in 2024 to MCS. Sheldon worked for DTG until departing two years ago. He said there were several years without incidents or failed inspections.
Sheldon and other MCS executives attended February’s Georgetown Community Council meeting and plan to attend Tuesday’s Georgetown Business Association meeting to answer questions. That meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Art Zowie, 5021 Colorado Ave. S.
It is positive that MCS is reaching out to the community, but Davis worries what happens if and when the desire to be a good neighbor conflicts with the need to be profitable. Will regulating agencies really have Georgetown residents’ backs if need be or are we “going to depend on the support and moral compasses of the businesses?” she wondered.
Georgetown residents live very near industrial companies along with an airport and interstate. A 2013 study found life expectancy in the Duwamish Valley is eight years less than the Seattle average due to air pollution and nearby contaminated waste sites.
What happens if the dust returns to Flora Avenue?
“Then we’ll do what we always do. Stand up and demand some decency and safety for anyone living here,” Davis said.
How does "a net" contain dust??