Murphy – Crypto mining complaints in Cherokee County have largely stemmed from noise generated by Exponential Digital’s unenclosed operation on Harshaw Road.
The industry is now raising worries for the county landfill.
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved revisions to its solid waste ordinance on July 18, after solid waste director Rob Ward presented his concerns about the amount of incompressible foam a local crypto mining operation attempted to dump.
The revisions include language that bans materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene and similar types of packing materials from commercial haulers from any nonresidential point of origin. Ward said he was particularly concerned about the potential amount of waste generated if a local crypto mine is used as a regional distribution point.
“This is in direct response to having twenty 30-cubic-yard dumpsters, which is 1,400 yards of incompressible foam brought in from one of the crypto mine businesses in the county,” Ward said. “I was informed that there were another 30 of the 30-cubic-yard dumpsters there at the facility, which would have been another 2,100 cubic yards of incompressible foam (coming) if we had not stopped that by using a section of solid waste ordinance as it exists. The solid waste manager is allowed to put a temporary ban ... on those types of items until it is brought before the county commissioners.”
Ward said such “problematic items” have been banned in other counties around the state. According to the director, a hauler needs to show “significant proof” of the point of origin of the materials to make sure they are coming from Cherokee County and he will refuse the materials if necessary. Cherokee County’s low tipping fees and proximity to crypto mining operations influenced Ward’s request to the board of commissioners.
“This incompressible foam cannot be compacted with our compactor,” Ward said. “Our machine is designed to crush this material and it pops back like a memory foam mattress. Our state inspector was out looking at the landfill watching the compactor go across ... and just with 20 of them in there over the previous week, they saw the compactor bouncing across the landfill and said, ‘You’re not getting your recommended compaction density.’ ”
Ward specified that the policy change applies only to commercial entities, and that the county is not trying to ban individuals from bringing packing foams and materials into the landfill.
“If that entire 50 loads had entered the landfill, it would have been 13 percent of the year’s quantity in one month,” Ward said. “If they do a regional packing of the computers there, it would overwhelm our landfill and use up our valuable air space quickly.”