Modesto Couple Says They Can't Go Outside With Dust, Noise, Smell From Nearby Recycler
MODESTO (CBS13) — The Ortegas built their house in 1959, but in 2015, the elderly couple says they can't go outside.
Their daughter says the recycling center across the street on Ninth Street is creating dust, noise and foul smells on a regular basis.
"I'm out there for a couple of hours and I'm just covered in dust," said Rebecca Harrington.
Stanislaus County supervisor Jim DeMartini says Central Valley Recycling opened in 1991 as just a can and bottle recycler, but a few years ago it started crushing cars.
"When they are crushing and smashing those vehicles, the smell of chemicals is pungent," Harrington said.
The company's owner declined to speak on camera, but says he's changed his business. He's put up a fence, moved the crushing operation to the middle of his property, and says on a good day, he'll only crush five cars. As for the dust, the company waters the yard twice a day.
"They're watering it down, which they're watering it down and we're in a drought," Harrington said.
The owner says he plans to put down a tar-like surface in the next few weeks to keep the dust down, but the Ortegas are appealing the recycler's conditional permit. The homes were built first, and DeMartini says it's not an industrial zone.
The appeal goes before the board on June 16.
