Landfill trash, that is, since it became known that Allied Waste Industries Inc. has purchased 1,600 acres in Mecklenburg, Lunenburg and Charlotte counties hoping to build an approximately 250-acre landfill on the Charlotte portion.

Since the proposal became common knowledge late last year, the company and local officials and residents have been fortifying their positions.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company says the project would benefit Charlotte County with jobs and revenue. Charlotte officials insist the project is only a proposal in its first stages. Opponents fear that the deal already might be a foregone conclusion.

The debate is not surprising. Traditionally, prisons and landfills are neighbors that few want, and grass-roots opposition often rises when such projects are proposed.

In late December, a joint meeting of the county's Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission was long and contentious when about 300 people overflowed from the meeting room during a public hearing on changes to the zoning ordinance that could pave the way for the landfill.

Most in the crowd were clearly opposed to the landfill proposal.

"Is anybody for this dump?" county resident Vincent Finelli asked in a request that left the room silent.

Opponents point to the traditional concerns: soil, water and air pollution, and out-of-state waste.

County officials insist a final decision on the landfill is a long way off. The landfill would have to get county approval and per- mits from state and federal environmental agencies.

"Nothing has been decided," County Administrator R.B. Clark said.

Supervisor Nancy Carwile said in an interview last week: "I haven't promised my vote yes or no. . . . I'm trying to keep an open mind."

In her newsletter mailed out last week to 625 households, Carwile provided an outline of Allied's presentation to the county, including company promises of $1 million to the county when the zoning application is approved, another $1 million when the permits are received from the state, and $1.4 million when the landfill begins receiving waste. Allied would pay the county a per-ton fee, with a guarantee of $1 million per year for the first five years. They also would accept all the county's trash for free.

"I didn't try to address all the tales that are out [there]," Carwile said. "I just tried to sit down and explain the proposal in as straight forward a way as I could."

County officials say the changes to the zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan that were the subject of the December public hearing were not directly related to the landfill proposal. The proposed changes were referred back to the Planning Commission for further examination.

At the behest of the supervisors, Allied's project development manager, Ted Neura, attended the December meeting and outlined the company's proposal to clear up the many questions associated with the landfill proposal and "begin community outreach," he said.

"We don't generate the garbage, we manage it in a way that is in compliance with state and federal standards," Neura said.

The landfill would not accept certain waste, such as hazardous, medical and radioactive, he said.

Allied Waste Industries Inc. says that it is the second-largest non-hazardous solid waste management company in the United States with annual revenues of more $5 billion and assets of nearly $14 million. It operates 167 landfills nationwide including three in Virginia -- in Brunwick, King and Queen and Henrico counties, according to the company's Web site.

BFI Waste Services, which has been in Virginia for years, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied. Allied's operation in Charlotte is through Charlotte County Development Co., Neura said.

In Neura's December presentation, and in a several-inches-thick book about the project and company, Allied says the landfill would generate nearly $100 million in revenue for the county over the project's approximately 20-year lifetime. It also estimated the landfill would purchase about $500,000 in good and services locally every year -- "a boom to local business," the company said.

It also would create 15 to 20 landfill jobs, 10 to 20 trucking jobs and an additional 20 to 30 seasonal construction jobs, the company said.

But opponents are not impressed.

"Our position would be we would hope the county decides against the facility being built," said Michael Town, director of the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club. "The company is looking to make money by bringing in other states' garbage, but that's bad for the county . . . and the commonwealth. The supervisors should not be blinded by dollar signs and should do right for the [county.]"