Douglas County attorneys asked for a preliminary injunction last
week to shut down Douglas County Recycling for six to 12 months
after a large fire there in early December.
The plant owner’s attorney asked for more time, and the hearing
to shut down the plant longer was postponed until Jan. 4.
If the preliminary injunction is granted by District Court Judge
Paul King, the county likely will seek a permanent injunction to
close the plant permanently.
The closure was prompted by a large debris fire that started at
the plant Dec. 5. South Metro Fire Rescue crews fought the fire
near south U.S. 85 and Titan Road for several days, with assistance
from the recycling plant owner and Douglas County.
The plant is between Sedalia and Highlands Ranch off U.S. 85,
along the industrial corridor of western Douglas County.
After the plant opened in 1996, the county unsuccessfully tried
to close it. The county claimed the plant needed a junk-yard
permit. A county judge gave the plant more time to get proper
permits, and said the county needed recycling services.
“They’re now listed under landfills in the phone book,” said
assistant county attorney Kelly Dunnaway. “They’re taking household
garbage and animal manure out there. We had a list of zoning
violations that we were going after in September, but the fire
brought the plant to the top of our list.”