DOVER — Garrison Oak Business and Technology Park continues to rise, as a local waste disposal company has planned a small operations hub in Dover’s premiere industrial park.
Blue Hen Disposal, a 50-year-old solid waste company with operations throughout the state and some parts of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, has filed plans with Dover officials to build a 10,000-square-foot facility. That includes a 6,000-square-foot, two-story office building and a 4,000-square-foot garbage truck maintenance yard.
Based in Millsboro, the operations hub in Garrison Oak would be considered an expansion for Blue Hen Disposal. Its Camden operations president, Paul Pierce, told Dover Planning officials that the company would be looking to relocate its Camden office to Garrison Oak.
Blue Hen Disposal has 26 employees who would move from its Camden Office to Dover, with 15 who drive collection trucks.
“Garrison Oak is open to almost any possibilities, and this demonstrates that it continues to be attractive for existing businesses in Delaware to grow as well,” Kent Economic Partnership Executive Director Linda Parkowski told the Delaware Business Times in November. “I think we’re in a good position so far in terms of inventory to offer as companies look to make decisions on retention and expansion. This is an example of that.”
Blue Hen Disposal launched in 1972 as a waste collection service based in Millsboro. With Shannon Argo as the company president, Blue Hen offers commercial, residential and roll-off waste services for southern Delaware, but has grown to Kent and New Castle counties over the years. In 2010, Blue Hen expanded into recycling organic waste through a composting facility in Frankford with Blue Hen Organics.
In the last two years, Blue Hen Disposal had acquired two companies: Service First Containers and Coastal Containers. Both companies served clients in the construction industry in Kent and Sussex counties, and brought 160 employees in Blue Hen Disposal
In the Garrison Oak project, R&R Commercial realty represents Blue Hen Disposal in the deal, and Jeff Spiegelman of The Commercial Moving Experience, represents the city in the deal.
Blue Hen Disposal plans to build a garage on site for vehicle maintenance and repair for the 15 garbage collection trucks. A traffic study from the Delaware Department of Transportation estimated 135 daily vehicle trips, including 30 trips for garbage truck drivers as they leave in the morning for their routes and come back overnight.
Trash and recycling will not be collected at this new facility in Garrison Oak, it will be trucked to landfills or a Delaware Solid Waste Authority transfer station. Once the facility opens, trucks will be parked overnight in a fenced area and used for general maintenance and a diesel refueling. The refueling station would involve a 20,000-gallon, above-ground tank.
It’s estimated that 136 large, empty dumpsters would be stored on the property as well.
