BELLE, W.Va. –About 70 people gathered at Belle Town Hall on Tuesday evening to learn more and ask questions about Clean Seas WV, an “advanced recycling” facility near Belle.
West Virginia field organizer for Moms Clean Air Force, Lani Wean, said this was their second meeting to educate the community about what the facility would do.
“Was essentially to educate the public on the health and environmental as well as economic impacts of this facility should it actually begin it’s operations,” Wean said.
The meeting was held in partnership with Moms Clean Air Force, the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, and Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services.
Wean said the facility would take plastic feedstock that cannot be mechanically recycled and process it in a high-heat, low-oxygen environment through a method known as pyrolysis. She said the process melts the plastic and produces char, pyrolysis oil, and toxic air pollution.
Clean Seas WV, located at the former 84 Lumber building, originally broke ground at the site in June 2025 and was expected to begin operations by the end of that year. Wean said the facility is currently allowed to operate at low levels under a research and development exemption, which permits it to operate without an air construction permit from the Division of Air Quality within the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
She also said the company has an application on file with the Division of Air Quality that would allow it to begin full operations if approved. During the meeting, organizers told community members that the division has 90 days to review the application, which would then trigger a 30-day public comment period.
Shrewsbury resident Marty Gibson said she received a postcard in the mail three weeks ago informing her about the meeting. She said she spoke with her neighbors about how, if the facility does open, pollution could very well come in their direction.
“Whatever they do down here, we’re going to be affected by it, I’m already asthmatic so, we decided, my neighbors across the street, and us said we’re going to go and see what this is all about,” Gibson said.
She said she first heard about the facility in January when crews demolished the former Kroger building in Quincy and learned that incinerators were planned for that location.
Wean said she believes education is extremely important regarding any type of plant that could potentially harm the environment, especially following the chemical incident in Institute last Wednesday that killed two people and left another critically injured.
“It is really pertinent, I think especially right now as our people are dealing with the emotional, environmental and health fallout of that disaster, this is really a pertinent time to be talking about how to prevent additional build out and also prevent something like that from happening in the future here,” she said.
She said it has been well documented that other advanced recycling or plastic processing facilities have experienced chemical disasters, fires, or explosions.
Wean said she hopes this meeting, along with other conversations, will encourage people to speak out in opposition to the facility.
“There’s a lot of people based on our conversations with community members over the last six months or so who have questions or concerns and haven’t known which direction to point them in and what to do with them, and it takes that knowledge, the goal is to turn that into some kind of action so that folks feel empowered both within themselves and with their families,” she said.
Gibson expressed a similar sentiment, saying she wants the Belle community and surrounding areas to get involved.
“I think it’s time that the people of Belle, and Diamond, Shrewsbury, East Bank, clear to Cedar Grove even, find out what’s going on and get involved, and the only way we can stop this is all of us stand together and let our legislators and out state government know that this is not acceptable because it’s not,” she said.
The three groups encouraged residents to review the facility’s application, speak with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and with one another, contact local elected officials, request a public meeting with the DEP regarding the application, and submit written or oral comments during the public comment period.