Roseboro, N.C. — The fire chief of a town in Sampson County said he’s struggling to keep cleaning up the messes from a food waste factory in the county.
Roseboro Fire Chief Lee Coleman said his staff has responded to three hazmat spills in the past few weeks in his fire district.
“The problem for us is that we’re volunteers. We have to go out there and stay sometimes for hours, on the side of the road blocking the road,” Coleman said. “So my guys miss work.”
Coleman also says it is costing taxpayers money to pay for fire engines to deploy each time there’s a spill.
“While we are out there blocking the road, we’ve had other calls come in,” Coleman said.
The waste is coming from the company Darling Ingredients, according to Coleman. The company recycles food waste and has a factory off Savannah Avenue in Sampson County.
Coleman said trucks are shedding dead chicken parts at certain intersections and areas of the road near the factory.
“It seems like it’s the same locations over and over again,” Coleman said. “And if there’s some way to transport this stuff a little bit better it would save us a lot of money.”
Coleman said he’s spoken with safety managers at Darlington Ingredients but has seen no improvement.
WRAL News has reached out to Darling for comment but hasn’t heard back.
