![This county board of health photo, dated Jan. 31, 2018, shows cleanup progress at the dump. [Cuyahoga County Board of Health]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/03337a5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2500x1326+0+0/resize/840x446!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F2%2F16%2F0131ccbharco.jpg)
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency says major cleanup work is done at the Arco Recycling dump site in East Cleveland.
Work crews have cleared more than 300,000 cubic yards of debris from the property on Noble Road, according to a news release from the Ohio EPA.
While the piles of material are gone, contractors are still working, agency spokeswoman Heidi Griesmer said.
“They’re going and getting all of the small pieces of waste that weren’t part of the big pile,” she said. “Then once that’s done they’re going to bring in a street sweeper.”
Arco set up business on the property near people’s homes after the city of East Cleveland sold the land in 2014 for $125,000.
Last year the state EPA accused Arco of illegally disposing of construction and demolition debris at the site, rather than recycling it.
The Ohio attorney general’s office then filed a lawsuit, signing an agreement with the company that allowed state EPA workers and contractors access to the site to clear the rubble.
To date, the price tag for cleanup is $8.8 million.
“While the state paid to get this property cleaned up, we will be trying to recoup those costs from parties responsible,” Griesmer said.
The attorney general’s office told the court this month it’s investigating who else might be responsible.
People living near the site have sued Arco Recycling.
