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A controversy over the disposal of construction waste will land in the hands of a Polk County district judge.

At stake is whether companies that recycle construction and demolition debris can dispose of material left in its wake for free at the Metro Waste Authority landfill in eastern Polk County.

Metro Waste had allowed recyclers to deliver the material as a soil substitute called alternative daily cover providing it met testing requirements, including that it would not be malodorous. The material is what is left after wood, metal and other reusable materials are separated out of construction and demolition debris.

At the time Metro Waste entered agreements with two local recyclers in 2003 and 2004, it was attempting to reduce landfill space under order of

the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

After first considering its own construction and demolition debris processing facility, Metro Waste deferred to private companies. One of those companies has since gone out of business.

A little more than one year into the program, Metro Waste began rejecting the delivery of alternative daily cover, saying that it created odors caused primarily by the decay of wallboard.

It continued to accept the material as solid waste, however, charging a standard fee of $32.70 a ton.

Phoenix C & D Recycling Inc. filed a lawsuit in January 2006, attempting to change conditions of a contract it entered into with Metro Waste to deliver alternative daily cover. Among other things, the company claimed that it entered the contract under duress and accused the landfill authority of fraud.

In separate rulings, a Polk County district judge rejected a variety of the allegations, including fraud.

In addition, an arbitration panel created by court order determined that Phoenix had not met Metro Waste standards for the alternative daily cover. The panel also established standards for continued testing of the material.

Phoenix objected to the panel’s order, which was upheld late last year by District Judge Glenn Pille.

District Judge Donna Paulsen will consider other issues stemming from the contract and a request for compensation for lost income during a non-jury trial Aug. 4.