A citizens’ group sued the Greene County Board of Commissioners in 1998, saying that they approved a landfill site without following proper procedures or considering alternative locations.  After four years of community pressure and a NC Court of Appeals opinion in favor of the citizens’ group, the Board re-voted, overturned its original decision and decided not to approve any of the proposed landfill sites.  This case was the first to fall under a North Carolina statute, passed in 1999, which established a protocol for approving landfill sites within one mile of an existing facility.  This situation typifies others in which rural counties are targeted for imported waste by private companies.

“In eastern North Carolina . . . good jobs aren’t plentiful, and the counties are always looking for ways to generate revenue.  And when you have large corporations coming in and shopping around for places to put a landfill, they always make it sound a lot better than it actually is for the community. 

"I always wonder, if the landfill is such a great deal, then why don’t you want to keep it in your community so you can profit from the income generated?”

-Community Member