Several residents who live near the landfill complained about CFS’s management of it and asked the Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors for closer overseeing of its operation.

During the supervisors’ Thursday meeting, Cindy and Bob Foley, of Courthouse Road, produced a jar containing a black substance and said it is leachate from the landfill that could be making its way to the Meherrin River.

“That’s not right,” he said.

Foley complained that the trash is not regularly covered as it is supposed to be, and that exposed trash attracts seagulls that cover his yard.

“It’s a mess,” he said.

Based in Petersburg, CFS is a full-scale industrial, commercial, and residential waste and recycling operation that includes among its holdings CFS Disposal and Recycling Services of Lunenburg.

The Foley’s said the county should hire a full-time liaison to work at the landfill.

Currently, the duties of Director of Community Development Beverley P. Hawthorne include being part-time liaison.

“Does the county care about the safety of the citizens of the county,” Cindy Foley rhetorically asked. “No one knows what is going on.”

Added her husband, “If we think corporate America cares about Lunenburg County, think again. … We really need to have someone out there being paid to (look out for) the county.”

Meanwhile, John Light, of Old Mansion Road, said the trucks hauling trash drive “very fast” and come and go late into the light, and debris flies from them – a sentiment echoed by his neighbor, Jeff Burgess. Burgess said the smell was so strong recently that it nearly made him noxious.

“I have not seen one good thing from that landfill,” he said.

However, Tim Webb, an official with CFS, told the board that he did not want to comment, but insisting that “we are within the regulations.”

“We take pride in what we do out there,” he said. “We work very closely with the county.”

Webb questioned how Foley got on the property to get his sample, insisted that the trash is not left uncovered, and maintained that they try to keep the landfill clean – though, he noted, a tornado did come close, and the county has experienced high winds lately.

“I’ve spoken to Mr. Foley on several occasions,” Webb said. “He doesn’t like the answers I’ve given.”

Subsequently, supervisor Alvester Edmonds suggested the board possibly hire another part-time landfill liaison to monitor activities at the landfill. Chairman David Wingold said it was something the budget committee could look into, and maybe come up with something as the new budget is being developed.

“We do care about the (health) of our residents and we care about safety,” Supervisor Edward Pennington said. “We want to resolve the problem that is before us.”