Recycling center plan goes to county for vote BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer EAST BRUNSWICK — Middlesex County officials may come to a vote tonight on an application to build a recycling facility on Edgeboro Road. Triple M Sanitation is seeking approval to build what it describes as a Class A recycling center on the road, which residents say has already seen enough in the way recycling and landfill uses. The township already voted down the Triple M proposal, but the Board of Chosen Freeholders could effectively overrule that. Residents have been vocal from the time the plans were first conceived, which actually dates to 1996. That application was denied by the township, and Triple M came back last year with what it described as a different application. The Zoning Board refused to hear it, saying it was substantially the same as the prior one. Triple M’s applications have called for a largely paper-recycling operation, with some co-mingled materials involved. One of the complaints residents had with the facility was that it would make traffic matters worse on Route 18, Old Bridge Turnpike and Edgeboro Road. Other complaints were that the plant would be operated too close to residential property, and would bring more garbage trucks to Route 18 and Edgeboro Road. During Monday night’s Township Council meeting, North Woodland Avenue resident Albert Gonzalez thanked the township for supporting residents in their fight. He also told the council that the property in question is poorly maintained and has no containment. If approved, the facility would bring “a lot of garbage, a lot of recycling materials and a lot of traffic on Route 18,” he said. Mayor William Neary said the Middlesex County Solid Waste Advisory Council is well aware of the township’s feelings about the facility, and that he is confident things will work out in favor of the residents who oppose the plan. He said all parties involved have done the necessary legwork to convince the freeholders of their position. Gonzalez said there is a question as to where the materials would be coming from. Triple M operates out of Staten Island, and Gonzalez said he suspects that is where the materials would come from. He said the materials are from New York and should be dealt with there. Gonzalez also complained that the freeholders’ hearing on the matter was twice rescheduled, and is now being heard in late December at the height of the holiday season. Regardless, he said, residents will come out “en masse” to make their position known. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in New Brunswick.