Public Hearing for RedX Medical Waste Facility in Hiram stirs concerns

Paulding Commissioners held a Public Hearing on a proposal submitted by RedX Medical, LLC to locate a Medical Waste Facility on 6.76 acres of property in Hiram Industrial Park on Metromont Road, prior to the start of their regular meeting last week.
The proposal has met with some opposition from Hiram residents who have expressed concerns over the location and how the facility would be managed. Last week’s hearing heard from nine citizens who were preceded by comments from RedX Medical’s managing partner, Jeff Locke, who also fielded citizen comments during the hearing. Redx Medical LLC is a small, fairly new organization in the health and allied services industry located in Marietta. It opened its doors in 2012, and now has an estimated $87,209 in yearly revenue and three employees.
Locke led off by covering what the facility would not be doing. “One thing we are not doing, we are not incinerating anything,” he said.
The process, he said, is a ‘saturated-steam’ system. The company provides service to medical facilities, doctor’s offices, hospitals, and labs, he explained.
Coming from local hospitals, the medical waste would be broken down to “a sterile, physically harmless end-product that is dried, shredded and readily accepted at landfills.” Also any discharge of water involved has been vetted through the county’s water department, he said. Final approval for the facility is permitted through the EPD he said.
Locke also said that a decision by the company to move from Kennesaw was due to operating costs, and not for any other reason. Current Hiram Mayor Teresa Philyaw expressed her opposition to the proposal during last week’s public hearing, as did former Hiram Mayor Carmen Rollins.
Ms. Philyaw told commissioners at a previous hearing held in July that the location, which is near Hiram’s business district, would be a “black-eye” for Hiram. Ms. Philyaw’s remarks last week were followed by other residents who raised concerns over effect of the proposed facility on property values, impact on air quality and proximity to businesses such as restaurants, and noise concerns.
“Ms. Philyaw told Paulding commissioners that [it] does carry a stigma... and she added that the road the facility would be located on is one of the most heavily-travelled in the county. “We’re not opposed to jobs in Paulding County...but we’re concerned that it-- in the recently opened industrial park-- could drive away potential manufacturers,” Mayor Philyaw said.
Philyaw said she’d like to see the facility locate somewhere else in the county less densely populated and also submitted a petition document to the county’s administrator.
Former Hiram Mayor Carmen Rollins told Paulding commissioners that “...we’re not opposed to [this] venture, we just don’t want it [to locate] in our neighborhood.”
But Commission Chairman David Austin tempered the discussion somewhat by adding that citizens would be naive to think that hazardous wastes aren’t being moved through our communities by both truck and rail every day.
“And I don’t even want to know what goes into the landfill,” Austin said.
Last week’s public hearing which was required by state law, did not require The Board of Commissioners to take any action.

1. Last week’s public hearing heard from nine citizens who were preceded by comments from RedX Medical’s managing partner, Jeff Locke, who also fielded questions during the hearing. (Photo: R. Grant)

2. Former Hiram Mayor Carmen Rollins told Paulding commissioners “...we’re not opposed to [this] venture, we just don’t want it in our neighborhood.” (Photo: R. Grant)