Plans to build a solid waste transfer station in southwest Lubbock are moving forward as the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended a zoning change for the facility in a split vote. The commission voted 6-3 to support the change from low density, single-family zoning to industrial park zoning on about 70 acres of municipally owned land near Marsha Sharp Freeway and Alcove Avenue, just east of the Wolfforth city limits. The City of Lubbock purchased the land in August last year as part of a plan to improve the city’s trash service by building a transfer station there.
The station will allow the city’s garbage trucks to empty their loads at the transfer station instead of making the long drive directly to the landfill near Abernathy. Larger trucks will then take the garbage to the landfill. City staff has for years planned to include the station as part of the city’s solid waste utility, and the Lubbock City Council approved about $18 million in funding for the facility in its 2023 budget.
Some Lubbock and Wolfforth citizens who live near the site of the proposed transfer station have concerns the facility will decrease property values and cause safety issues on what they say are poorly maintained roads in the area. There are also concerns about garbage smells and air quality nearby.