Stericycle officials plan to host the first of a series of informational public meetings this week.
Company leaders will be on hand Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Tooele County Building to answer residents’ questions about Stericycle and its progress through the state’s legal process for the relocation of solid waste facilities.
Though there will not be a formal presentation at the meeting, the company hopes to help educate locals about the incineration process Stericycle uses to dispose of medical waste at its North Salt Lake facility, said Jennifer Koenig, vice president of corporate communications for Stericycle.
Stericycle has planned a series of similar informational meetings across the county in response to feedback from citizens who have accused the company of failing to communicate with the public.
Residents who met with company officials and local legislative representatives at a town hall meeting on March 1, said that the company’s failure to communicate with the public lead them to believe that Stericycle had reason to hide from local residents.
At that same meeting, Koenig acknowledged that the company had been slow in its response to local concerns, but pledged to be more communicative and to get involved with the community.
Stericycle intends to relocate its North Salt Lake incinerator to the Rowley area, which is approximately 20 miles northwest of Grantsville, in light of pressure from activist groups and residents of the residential neighborhood that has sprung up immediately next to the incinerator.
Since January, the company has increased its public relations efforts in anticipation of the legislative and permitting processes by which the company’s proposed relocation must be approved.
If the senate votes the proposal through this week, Stericycle will move to obtain permits from local and state officials, a process that will require a series of public hearings.
The Tooele County Building is located at 47 S. Main Street in Tooele City. Koenig said she hopes to hold meetings in both Grantsville and Stansbury in the near future