PARIS, Ky. (LEX 18) — 60 years ago, officials in Bourbon County built a trash incinerator on Paris's westside, a predominately Black neighborhood. The area has been known as a the city's "trash dump" for decades. During the past year, LEX 18 has been speaking with city officials and neighbors about the challenges they have faced in relocating the facility, and over the weekend, city officials officially cut the ribbon on the new facility.
Located outside of the neighborhood, it's the culmination of years of advocacy.
Veteran Albert Wess Sr. has lived in the area since 1955. He celebrated his 102nd birthday in April, and has seen first hand the challenges brought by the former incinerator and waste transfer site since 1965.
"When they put it over here they didn't think care in the first place...The main thing people were concerned with was all the traffic, nobody even thought about the hazard stuff we could have been exposed to because it was here, people weren't enlightened or educated about how that kind of thing can be dangerous," he said.
Research reported by the Environmental Protection Agency found that fumes emitted by the incinerator harmed the soil, water, and quality of life for those who call the area home.
"In other words, we had a commode in the neighborhood and it should have never been over here in the first place," Wess said.
The Paris Westside Neighborhood Association formed and made a plan to move the facility out of the neighborhood. In 2022, Gov. Andy Beshear awarded the City of Paris a $2 million grant to assist in relocation.
The new facility is located on Thornberry Way, officially replacing the facility located on Stewart Street.
James Robinson grew up in the westside neighborhood.
"You know hopefully it is good for everybody," Robinson said. "It's good for Paris and Bourbon County to have the recycling center and the people that still live here like him, they don't have to put up with the constant flow of them trucks."
