DALLAS — Workers are finally dismantling mounds of recycled shingles at Blue Star Recycling in southern Dallas.
Residents on Choate Drive woke up Thursday to the humming of heavy trucks digging into the mountain of shingles and haul off the material. Owners of Blue Star Recycling said it could take a year to completely remove the pile of shingles.
Marsha Jackson and other residents have been calling the shingles a nuisance for months. They've dubbed the eyesore Shingle Mountain.
"This was supposed to be moved in December,” Jackson said. ‘And here it is June."
Jackson says removing it is taking too long.
"I can't get excited yet, because I've been going through this for a year and five months now," she said.
In March 2019, a judge ordered the recycling company to shut down its operation. One month later, amid outcry and concern from neighbors and environmental justice advocates, Blue Star Recycling and the City of Dallas were back in court.
A judge ordered the company to clean up and remove all of the shingles in 90 days. Yet, neighbors say they haven’t seen trucks on the property until this week.
"My biggest concern is the health,” Jackson said. “Like I told them, this asphalt, it's going in our vents. It's going in our ducts, and we are constantly breathing that."
Carl Orrell, the chief executive officer of Blue Star Recycling, says the handling of the issue has been complicated. He says his team has been spending time trying to get a solution in place, while dealing with restrictions by the land owner, the equipment owner, and the City of Dallas.
Orrell says someone is now willing to haul away the material. He says the priority, right now, is removing the pile near Jackson’s home first.
Neighbors say they are curious to hear what a judge will say when all sides head back to court Monday.
"No more negotiations for us.” Jackson said. “It needs to be moved!”
