Dive summary:

• The upcoming merger of Lakeshore Waste Services and Recycling Systems has put plans for the Morton Grove recycling center in Chicago on hold.
• Lakeshore Recycling Systems, the end product of the merger, is facing problems with Illinois and EPA regulations and residential pushback claiming that a sorting facility will lower property values and bring mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus.
• Lakeshore Recycling officials say they hope the plan wont be delayed for more than a few months but that up to a year is within the realm of possibility.

From the article:

"I have to keep an open mind," Staackman said. "Of course, we don't want to do anything to the detriment of the community or hurt property values. When the issue was a transfer station, our hands were a little tied because most of the criteria for that is set by the EPA and State of Illinois.

"Now that it is a recycling center, it's a whole new ballgame," he said. "Lakeshore has to apply for a special use permit and prove that its business would not be a detriment to the community. The onus is on them. We'll have to wait and see if they apply."

Morton Grove resident Tom Maddex, head of an opposition group "Citizens to Stop Morton Grove Garbage" said to trustees that a recycling center, which he deemed a "garbage sorting operation," would bring rodents, mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus, increased traffic and lower property values. ...