July community meeting - Dist. 5 councilor: Speak out about Hazelwood recycling facility expanding to accept trash | The Homepage

Also: Make your home more comfortable and affordable with these energy efficiency upgrades

District 5 City Councilor Barb Warwick speaks about the waste transfer permit applied for by the recycling facility at 50 Vespucius St. at the July 8 Greater Hazelwood community meeting. Photo by Tiffany Taulton

By Juliet Martinez, managing editor

Hazelwood neighbors and friends gathered online and in the second-floor classroom of Community Kitchen Pittsburgh on July 8. They heard updates on new housing in Hazelwood and learned about making their homes more energy efficient. District 5 Councilor Barb Warwick had a last-minute addition to the agenda. She alerted meeting participants to a potential problem at the recycling facility at 50 Vespucius St. in Hazelwood.

Recycling plus trash

Ms. Warwick announced that Republic Services, the new owners of the recycling facility, have filed a permit to handle trash there as well as recycling.

The recycling plant below the tracks has been a source of pest infestations for many years. Ms. Warwick said the previous owner, Recycle Source, filed for a permit to handle municipal solid waste in 2021.

According to the Department of Public Works website, new owner Republic Services submitted the current request for a transfer station permit in January. A waste transfer station receives trash and then transfers it to trucks that take it to landfills.

“They have a lot of rodents, smell and noise,” Ms. Warwick said of the facility that sits within a few hundred feet of homes and businesses.

Ms. Warwick said she is pushing for a review of the permit by the Office of Environmental Justice.

“It was an environmental injustice to stick this next to people’s homes when it was built, and they got a permit without doing any outreach. The new permit would continue the injustice,” Ms. Warwick said.

To contact the Department of Environmental Protection about this facility and pending transfer permit, email your comments to RA-EP-EXTUPLSWRO@pa.gov. To submit complaints, visit pa.gov/

agencies/dep/report-incidents-and-complaints and reference permit 101723; if necessary, the authorization number is 1513574. Ms. Warwick requests to be copied on these emails at Barbara.Warwick@pittsburghpa.gov.

Free home energy upgrades

If you want to lower your utility costs, a free home energy audit can help. Luke O’Shea is an energy auditor with the nonprofit Energy Efficiency Empowerment. He said a home energy audit is a free, detailed evaluation of a home focusing on things that waste energy.

Almost 80% of homes in Pittsburgh were built before 1960. These older homes tend to be leaky and poorly insulated, Mr. O’Shea said.

The energy audit looks at the size of the home and the quality of the windows. The auditor uses a blower door to pinpoint air leaks in the home. An infrared camera shows areas that are very hot or cold, and an HVAC camera allows the auditor to inspect the home’s heating and cooling system.

The audit report tells the home’s owner or tenant how to improve, which options are best and what resources can help them.

PennEnergySavers.com offers a low-rate loan program for energy efficiency upgrades from the state. Action Housing also has a free weatherization program for qualifying homeowners. For more information, visit actionhousing.org/our-services/weatherization.

Mr. O’Shea also mentioned rebates and tax credits for energy efficiency upgrades. The tax credits are unlikely to last past this year, though, so he encouraged anyone interested to make those repairs or upgrades before the year ends.

Next, Jill Stanley presented. She runs the heat pump program for Energy Efficiency Empowerment. She said if you have an older gas or electric hot water heater in your home, you may be eligible for a free heat pump water heater.

Heat pump water heaters are more efficient than regular electric water heaters, she said. People who change from an electric water heater to a heat pump water heater will see significant savings on their electric bills. Gas water heaters are less expensive to run and only cost a little more than a heat pump water heater. But she said the heat pump appliance is better for indoor air quality and has a much smaller carbon footprint.

Ms. Stanley said in order to qualify, the homeowner or tenant and landlord need to complete paperwork. A plumber has to inspect the basement to determine whether there is room to install the heat pump.

The program has up to 30 free heat pumps to install, so Ms. Stanley encouraged anyone interested to visit Energy Efficiency Empowerment at eeepgh.org.

Land trust homes for sale

Crystal Jennings-Rivera is the director of stewardship and community engagement at City of Bridges Community Land Trust. This nonprofit has built and remodeled several homes in Hazelwood.

The new quadplex on Hazelwood Avenue between Second and Chatsworth avenues is finished. The four units are energy efficient, all-electric, air conditioned and each includes one off-street parking space behind the building.

The two one-bedroom ground-floor units are accessible and intended for disabled residents. They have a washer and dryer in the bedroom. The bathrooms are fully wheelchair accessible.

The duplex homes built on Chatsworth Avenue are also finished and available. These three-bedroom, energy-efficient modular construction homes have front and back porches and all-electric appliances.

Other remodeled homes in Hazelwood will be available at the end of August, Ms. Jennings-Rivera said. To learn more, visit cityofbridgesclt.org/how-to-apply.

Hazelwood Initiative

Lauren Coursey, Hazelwood Initiative director of engagement and sustainability, announced that the Gladstone Residences are 73% leased. The organization has five other properties under construction and is working on two more.

Anyone interested in buying a home through the community development corporation is encouraged to start a home-buyer education program such as those offered by Catapult or Neighborworks. Also, plan to attend the home-buyer workshop on Sept. 10. (See ad below.)

Lastly, all are welcome to join the community garden workdays at the Hazelwood Community Garden from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hazelwood Community Garden on Monongahela Street between Minden and Berwick streets.