Stericycle plans west-central Springfield facility

The medical waste business is not for the faint of heart.

After getting snubbed by the city of Ozark, medical waste handler Stericycle Inc. is targeting a west-central Springfield location for its southwest Missouri transfer station.

The Lake Forest, Ill.-based company has filed for a conditional use permit with the city of Springfield to occupy the vacant building at 1401 W. Olive St., which is in a heavy manufacturing district.

Springfield Planning & Zoning Commission has recommended approval for the permit; six members at its Jan. 9 meeting agreed unanimously that Stericycle met all conditional-use permit requirements, including preservation of health and safety, said Pat Platter, commission chairman.

The next step is to seek Springfield City Council approval. A public hearing is set for the Feb. 10 meeting, said Zoning Administrator Andy Furedy.

According to Stericycle officials, the Springfield site would be used to transfer sealed medical waste containers collected from its 12,000 southwest Missouri customers, which are mostly hospitals and medical clinics to semi-truck trailers that would then be driven to the company's treatment facilities in Kansas City and St. Louis.

"All of the transferring is done inside of the facility," said Joel Wilson, Stericycle area vice president. "People need to understand, we don't take the waste out of the container. Once the container is sealed at the generator's site, it is never opened again until it hits the treatment facility."

Last summer Stericycle's plans to construct a similar transfer facility on a flood plain in Ozark met strong opposition from nearby property owners. Although the issue never made it to a public hearing because Ozark City Council denied the flood-plain development permit council members there heard the disapproval loud and clear.

"We had a lot of people come out and speak out against that type of business and the location," said Collin Quigley, Ozark city administrator. "There was a concern by the residents that the types of materials (Stericycle) would be handling, they wouldn't want to see next to their home."

The response in Springfield so far has been more favorable, possibly because the surrounding area is largely industrial. Auto salvage yards and other industrial businesses dot adjacent properties.

None of the 17 property owners within 185 feet of the structure who were informed of the company's plans in December had voiced opposition as of the Jan. 9 Planning & Zoning meeting.

West Central Neighborhood Alliance President Phyllis Netzer, who met with Stericycle officials and attended the Planning & Zoning meeting, supports the business in her neighborhood.

"We would like to support (Stericycle)," she said. "I think it is going to be good. If this were going to be a treatment plant, this would be a different story. They are just taking (medical waste) off one truck and putting it on a trailer truck. It sits there a day or two until it is full, and then they take it to Kansas City or St. Louis, both of which have processing plants."

Wilson said the company anticipates filling one trailer per day, which would hold between 250 and 325 containers, all labeled as hazardous material. The local fleet consists of about six 20-foot trucks and six employees, operating 6 a.m.-4 p.m., Wilson said. Pick-up routes include Joplin, Lake of the Ozarks, West Plains and the Missouri border, said Ray Lucas, Stericycle's district manager. Both St. John's and Cox hospitals are among Stericycle's customers, Lucas said.

The firm also is awaiting approval for a permit with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Missouri DNR officials said the permit application, which it received Dec. 18, is under engineering review. Review Engineer Charlene Fitch expects a public notice to be filed this week on Stericycle's proposal. Fitch is the Solid Waste Management Program engineer on the case. She said the public notice consists of news releases announcing the application and notification to elected officials, including Mayor Tom Carlson. If the public requests a public hearing, she said, Missouri DNR officials will conduct one in Springfield.

If the city and state permits are granted, Missouri DNR is responsible for monitoring the company's activities.

"This is a very highly regulated industry," Wilson said. "It's not something where you go through the permitting process and they forget about you. Routinely, we are under the scrutiny of the Missouri DNR."

Stericycle has more than 120 transfer stations across the country and about 33 in the central United States. There are 33 treatment facilities in the United States, nine of which are in the Midwest.

Wilson said it is common for both transfer and treatment stations to be near residential areas.

"It is a business. You are talking about logistics; you're talking about accessibility to the customer," he said. "(Facility locations) are business decisions."

Netzer is quick to point out that although her association favors the business, the general public in Springfield may take a different stance.

"It still may go crazy," she said, "you never know until it is finished."

The Feb. 10 City Council meeting should be a good indicator.