The town of Parrish, Alabama, home to 982 people, is knee deep in a messy situation.
Two months ago, waste management facilities in New York and New Jersey sent over 10 million pounds of human feces in shipping containers to Big Sky Environmental, a private landfill in Adamsville, Alabama. However, the waste would have to travel by railcar through various cities, and one of those cities, West Jefferson, Alabama filed an injunction to keep the waste from entering their town. They won and the waste was relegated to Parrish, where it has been sitting for over two months, according to Newsweek.
The town of Parrish has no zoning laws to prevent the waste from being dumped on them, and Mayor Heather Hall, is doing everything in her power to remove it.
“We have about 240 cars full of #bio solids, which is former #human #waste.” -Mayor Hall clears the #air about the #stench that got stuck in #Parrish #Alabama and when it’s moving out! @bigskyenv @EPA @nscorp @WBRCnews @WBRCgoodday pic.twitter.com/5xGbqDGGTe
— Bakari Savage (@BakariSavage) February 21, 2018
Hall told CNN, ““It greatly reduces the quality of life. You can’t sit out on your porch. Kids can’t go outside and play, and God help us if it gets hot and this material is still out here.”
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management has assured residents that the waste is not dangerous but the town is still concerned.
Hall said, “Other than it smelling absolutely terrible, I have to trust them that it’s not going to hurt you.”
Big Sky Environmental has yet to reach out to Hall and the town of Parrish to give them an estimate for when the waste will be removed, despite their original agreement of seven to 10 days.
It has been over two months, and with temperatures rising, residents are worried it will only get worse before it gets better.