We call on the Genesee County Board of Commissioners to abandon 609 Chavez Drive as the location for the proposed Recycling and Education Center and select a safer, more appropriate site through a transparent public process.

Flint residents were poisoned after government officials made decisions about our water without listening to the people who lived here. Now residents are being asked to accept another facility involving hazardous materials on contaminated property beside the Flint River.

Environmental injustice is not only the contamination discovered after people become sick. It is also the repeated placement of environmental risks in Black and low income communities that have historically been denied equal power in government decisions.

Genesee County plans to construct an approximately 23,000 square foot facility at the former McDonald Dairy property, 609 Chavez Drive. County documents show that it would collect and temporarily store household hazardous waste, electronics, flammable materials, and lithium ion batteries.

The property borders the Flint River and is already legally classified as a contaminated “facility.” Environmental testing identified soil contamination involving lead, mercury, chromium, barium, and total nitrogen.

The county’s environmental assessment described a future use that would not handle hazardous substances beyond typical residential quantities. Later plans call for collecting and storing combined quantities of hazardous waste and batteries.

A geotechnical investigation also found uncontrolled fill, buried debris, and remnants of previous foundations.

There are financial questions as well. A captured version of the county’s Legistar record showed a Wieland agreement for $6,762,400. The current record and adopted resolution show $604,227 a difference of more than $6.1 million with no visible public explanation for the change. Separate bidding documents contemplated construction costs of up to $10.5 million, excluding construction management fees.

This campaign began when an 80 year old Flint resident asked for help. She understood what officials should have understood from the beginning: Flint’s history demands more caution, more public participation, and more protection not another request for blind trust.

We support responsible recycling. Flint and Genesee County deserve a modern recycling facility, but it should not be built on contaminated riverfront property near downtown and the Cultural Center. The county should select a location with safe truck access, compatible surrounding land use, less environmental risk, and meaningful community support.

We demand that Genesee County:

1. End plans to construct the facility at 609 Chavez Drive.

2. Stop approving additional construction contracts, permits, or irreversible site work for this location.

3. Conduct and publish an objective comparison of alternative sites.

4. Include Flint residents and environmental-justice organizations in selecting the new location.

5. Explain the $6.1 million public-record discrepancy and publish the complete project budget and contract history.

6. Hold an accessible public meeting before making any further decision about the project’s location.

Flint residents are not disposable. The Flint River is not a dumping ground. Our community’s history is not permission to place the next environmental risk here.

Build a recycling center but not at 609 Chavez Drive.