Buncombe County landfill to expand after receiving excessive amount of Helene debris

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A major chapter in the cleanup after Hurricane Helene is coming to a close.

With work done, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is closing four of the five temporary debris drop-off sites in Buncombe County.

The one site still operated by the Corp is in Enka at Commerce Park.

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In Fairview, Debbie Caton watched for months as crews hauled debris to the site off Cane Creek Road.

“At first I thought, I don’t know about this,” said Caton, who saw the set-up. “But within a week it was no bother whatsoever. They worked tirelessly from sun-up to sundown.”

The lot in Fairview is now completely clear. Meanwhile, Buncombe County’s landfill in Alexander is moving ahead with a 4.7-mile acre expansion, which is the final phase for any expanded land use for garbage at the site.

“We did need to get that going and built due to the impacts of Helene,” said Kristy Smith, Buncombe County solid waste director. “Although a lot of the debris that our federal partners collected was hauled out of the county.”

Smith confirmed that the county commissioners approved $2.1 million to hire a contractor to do the work and prepare the site.

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The area getting expanded is in phase eight of the landfill and called the construction and demolition area, where construction and demo items will be hauled.

“They’re going to clear the trees, they’re going to get the subfloor of the landfill ready,” Smith said.

The project will start in August. Buncombe County staff are working on a comprehensive report about the landfill and the volume of debris brought to the site after Helene.