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Residents, haulers and commissioners discuss litter from transfer trucks near Oak Grove Landfill
Summary
A county resident urged Crawford County commissioners to press hauling companies and transfer stations to curb litter from trucks using the Oak Grove Landfill, suggesting a task force and cooperative equipment purchases; county officials and other speakers discussed enforcement and outreach.
Greg Stokes, a Crawford County resident, told the Crawford County Commission during public comment that litter from transfer trucks using the Oak Grove Landfill has become a recurring problem and described recent outreach to trucking firms.
"I had a good positive discussion with all 3 of them," Stokes said, referring to contacts he had reached at Stella, a trucking company. He described conversations with Stella representatives about tarping trucks and said he was told they had added 11 or 12 new tarps to trucks.
Stokes urged continued communication and stronger, coordinated action. "I think that if everybody keeps the door open and works positive and tries the communication between all the indies, I think that we'll start seeing some improvement on the litter situation," he said. He proposed forming a task force of community members and local officials to explore options such as cooperative purchasing of cleanup equipment or shared contracts to remove blown litter.
Other residents and commissioners who spoke during the comment period said enforcement and responsibility should be considered. One speaker argued the haulers who bid for landfill service should bear cleanup responsibility because "they're the ones who got the bid on the job and the landfill." Commissioners noted involvement by the sheriff's office and state police previously and agreed outreach to haulers was ongoing.
The commission did not take a formal vote or adopt a specific program during the meeting. Commissioners and public speakers discussed next steps: continue contact with haulers and transfer-station operators (Stella was identified as operating transfer stations out of Parsons and Springdale) and explore the idea of a cooperative purchase or shared contractor to do regular cleanups where trucks frequently travel.
Speakers emphasized that the problem crosses jurisdictions because many trucks travel from neighboring states to transfer stations, contributing to litter along county roads.
Commissioners indicated they would continue monitoring the issue and maintain communication with haulers and law enforcement; no formal directive, allocation of funds, or enforcement ordinance was adopted at the meeting.
