MARTINSBURG. W.Va. — The Entsorga Waste-to-Fuel plant in Martinsburg has been idle since April. But it hasn’t been empty:
That’s Clint Hogbin, Chair of the Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority.
He said after the fire, stakeholders met along with Department of Environmental Protection representatives:
Among those on scene was Darren Gruendel, President of Gold Medal Environmental, the company that owns Apple Valley Waste:
What was left in the building amounted to 512,00 cubic feet of trash, according to a post-incident report from the Baker Height’s Volunteer Fire Department.
The fire at 119 Recovery Way was in the ‘pit,’ or the area that contained garbage that had been stockpiled as the company was making fuel. “The large pit is approximately 80’ wide and roughly 350’ long. ” according to the fire department.
Gruendel said it’s hard to gauge when the work will be done:
As to what may happen to the Entsorga building after the trash is removed and the risk of fire is mitigated:
Gruendel says Apple Valley stepped up because of the long-standing partnership:
Gruendel says from a business perspective, he questions why there was only a singular ‘offload’ partner, or buyer for the fuel product.
Entsorga was shuttered in April after its parent company had difficulty finding a buyer for the fuel.
The facility opened in 2019.