🚨 RECYCLING CENTER UPDATE: THE RECORDS DO NOT MATCH
Public comment is open through September 17, 2026.
On September 1, the Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission approved another $40,100 for architectural services for the proposed Recycling Center at 609 Chavez Drive while design and budgeting continued.
Not final approval but the project is moving.
THE RECORDS CONFLICT:
• The public announcement described a recycling drop-off and education center. Plans include storing household hazardous waste, electronics, flammable materials and lithium-ion batteries. The hazardous-waste operation occupies about 12,720 square feet, including 9,652 for staging and storage.
• The environmental review assumed no hazardous substances beyond normal residential quantities. Later plans describe something different.• 609 Chavez is legally classified as a contaminated facility. Testing found lead, mercury, chromium, barium and total nitrogen in the soil, plus uncontrolled fill and buried debris.
• County health-equity policy calls for public participation before decisions. Yet we found no published Health Impact Assessment, safer-site comparison or dedicated meeting asking Flint residents whether this belongs here.
• A captured County Legistar record listed the Wieland agreement at $6,762,400. The current record shows $604,227 a difference of more than $6.1 million with no public explanation we found. Other documents contemplated construction costs up to $10.5 million, excluding construction management.
This is not opposition to recycling. It is opposition to putting a household hazardous-waste operation on contaminated riverfront property in Flint without honest disclosure, a Health Impact Assessment, safer site comparison or meaningful community involvement.
We are asking Genesee County to stop moving forward at 609 Chavez Drive, explain the conflicting records and choose a safer location through a transparent public process.
✍️ READ AND SIGN
Sign, share and submit public comment by September 17.
#NoRecyclingCenterInFlint #FlintMichigan #EnvironmentalJustice