No one wants a landfill in their backyard – a fact no one knows better than Ellery residents who live near the Chautauqua County landfill.

The landfill receives more than 100 truckloads of waste each day plus traffic from construction and service vehicles, all of which creates noise, diesel truck fumes, raises annoying dust and dirt from roads leading to the landfill and creates opportunities for tons of litter to make its way onto the ground.

Ellery officials and residents have specifically raised complaints in the past over smells from the landfill, prompting town officials to pass a moratorium on landfill expansion last year. After the moratorium, a committee comprised of county officials, town officials and Ellery residents was created to finally deal with those issues, disbanding after nearly a year because town residents’ concerns had been answered.

That doesn’t mean Ellery residents are comfortable with the idea of a bigger Chautauqua County landfill by 2017.

The town has signaled its opposition to the expansion, hiring an environmental attorney to be sure town residents’ concerns are represented during the expansion process. One of the biggest issues Ellery officials have is out-of-town garbage making its way to the county landfill. Non-county refuse totals 300 tons of the 1,000 tons the landfill receives each day. While accepting that out-of-county refuse keeps costs down for county residents, it also fills the landfill faster. Arden Johnson, Ellery town supervisor, also raised concerns about the new landfill cells’ proximity to Ellery Center. Those are serious concerns, and town officials are asking town residents to make sure any other concerns are brought out publicly by filling out a landfill impact survey, which are available with this editorial at www.post-journal.com.

As long as humans are on this planet, they will generate waste. The county does a pretty good job of managing that waste. There is no reason, however, to simply accept the fact Chautauqua County residents generate 700 tons of garbage a day. There is no reason to simply accept the assumption that the best solution to dealing with garbage is the way we’re doing it now. As part of the landfill expansion process, the county should study ways to reduce the amount of garbage that is taken to the landfill – whether it’s expanding participation in recycling programs, incineration or other innovations in trash disposal.

The landfill expansion project is, at best, a necessary evil. It is understandable why Ellery residents want their questions answered before landfill expansion takes place. All interested residents should fill out the landfill survey honestly – and the county should be prepared to answer every single one of those complaints and issues.

Those residents are, after all, the ones with a landfill in their backyard.