Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron says conversations with Republic Services about its request to expand Middle Point Landfill appears to have resulted in Republic agreeing to pull the request with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation:

Firms Bid To Recycle Waste

During a recent WGNS broadcast, Ketron said that the county had received proposals from nine companies who are interested in managing waste and recycling some of that waste into a viable product. By the way, Republic is one of those who made a proposal.

County Mayor Ketron is adamant about fair and consistent review of all proposals. For this reason and out of respect for the ongoing review process, Republic Services reportedly committed to not filing for the next step in the TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation) expansion application process.

Again, Mayor Ketron underlined . . .

Overview of What Has Happened

The aging Middle Point Landfill and its operator, Republic Services, earlier this month requested with TDEC a permit to expand the Middle Point Landfill.

State, county and Murfreesboro city leaders have come out in opposition to the expansion request. 

However, the county mayor was allegedly told by Republic that the permit request is allegedly being pulled and won't be considered for a year while the county's study of the nine proposals is completed.

Republic Did NOT Pull Forever

It must be understood that Republic Services, Inc. did not pull their request to expand forever. It is pulled only while Rutherford County leaders review proposals submitted by 9 companies, one of which is Republic Services, Inc.

NewsRadio WGNS will keep you informed on this rapidly changing story.