RRS Assists City of Flint with New Composting Site
Flint, MI— The buildings are gone but the cement slabs are still there reminding residents of the now vacant “Chevy in the Hole” facility that was the site of the famous sit down strike of 1935; the birthplace of not only General Motors but also the UAW. Soon, all of this will just be a memory thanks to initiatives by the City of Flint and the Army Corp of Engineers to transform this brownfield site into a beautiful green corridor.
The City will cover those cement slabs with 10 feet of leaves, yard waste, and compost to create a vegetative cap for the future park which should take about four years to complete. Currently, the City pays to have their yard waste and composting removed and topsoil brought in to backfill demolition sites.
Steve Montle, the Green Cities Coordinator for the City of Flint says “By combining Chevy in the Hole with our compost operation, it is expected to save the City up to a half million dollars a year, while at the same time moving us one step closer to repurposing that site as a green space for the community.”
The compost will also help decrease contamination runoff into the river. JD Lindeberg and Nicole Chardoul (both principals of RRS) have assisted the City with the logistics and facilitation of this transformation. With over 20 years of combined experience in composting, JD and Nicole have been able to guide the City during the beginning stages of this project.
“This is a great opportunity for the City to set an example for other communities on how to redevelop their brownfields” says Lindeberg, “We are excited to be assisting with the initiatives and look forward the continuing development of the green corridor.”
The first of the compost was dumped on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 and will continue throughout the fall.
Tags: Chevy in the Hole, City of Flint