By Matt Leingang
Enquirer staff writer

WINTON HILLS - Despite opposition from neighbors and two years of legal battles with the city of Cincinnati, a waste transfer station will be up and running next week.

Waste Management of Ohio will open a construction and demolition transfer station at the site of the former Environmental Land Development Association (ELDA) landfill on Este Avenue.

Construction and demolition debris includes wood, plaster, brick and concrete - items that can be dumped under less stringent rules than household garbage.

Waste Management of originally wanted the site to be a garbage transfer station.

But the Cincinnati Board of Health has denied a license for that activity every year since 2002, citing a long history of conflict with Waste Management, which had operated the now-closed ELDA landfill.

Homeowners who live near the site complained to the Board of Health on Tuesday night.

Health Commissioner Malcolm Adcock said the company obtained an occupancy permit that allows for construction materials to be sorted, reloaded and then shipped to other sites for recycling.

Adcock said the Health Department does not have authority to stop the project.

E-mail mleingang@enquirer.com