NJ Township Residents Oppose C&D Facility

Deptford residents attending a hearing Feb. 6 on a proposed concrete and asphalt recycling plant in the township denounced the project as a health threat.

Representatives of the applicant, Second Chance Recycling by Franchi Inc., told the Gloucester County Solid Waste Advisory Committee the crushing machine on the site would emit no dust and noise would be within state noise limits.

"We are not out to harm anybody's children," said Kim Franchi, a principal in the proposed plant. "I myself will be working around this equipment." Philip Franchi, another principal, operates a Camden-based demolition firm.

The advisory committee, saying it wanted to give township officials a chance for input, deferred a recommendation until its March 11 meeting.

It will then advise the freeholder board whether the facility should be added to the county's solid waste plan, a prerequisite for Franchi to apply for a state Department of Environmental Protection permit for the plant.

Residents remained skeptical, even after the attorney for the C&D facility said that the recycling plant's capacity would be scaled down 40 percent from when first proposed in 2000. Daily intake would be 600 tons of concrete and 400 tons of asphalt. Further, truck traffic to the site would average around 50 trips per day. Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier Post