MARTINSBURG, W.Va. –Waste-to-Fuel operations at the Entsorga plant in Martinsburg have been shut down for more than a year.
In the interim, trash, which had been used as fuel combusted, has caused multiple fires. What’s more, the money that had been coming in to the local Solid Waste Authority dried up in the months since the April 2022 closure.
But that doesn’t mean efforts to get operations going again have slowed. In the ensuing months, Entsorga’s bankruptcy status has cleared the way for the Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority to get into the building and mitigate fire risk with the help of local waste hauler Apple Valley Waste. A number of businesses have expressed interest in getting operations going again at the plant.
Meanwhile, Chair Clint Hogbin said until operations can get going again to transform trash into fuel, the BCSWA wants to at least have someone in the building. That could mean a short-term leasing arrangement for Apple Valley Waste.
During their meeting last week, the Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority board unanimously approved the short term lease agreement with Apple Valley Waste.
“Apple Valley indicates that they expect to be utilizing the facility starting October 1, 2023,” Hogbin said.
The move will allow Apple Valley Waste to use the facility as a transfer station.
“They won’t be making fuel for this period of time,” according to Hogbin, but it will allow the BCSWA to recoup the roughly $10,000 a month they have lost since Entsorga closed.
Clint Hogbin was a guest on the Sept. 18 edition of Panhandle Live. You can hear his full remarks on the Panhandle News Network Spotify.