As a local trash hauler I would like to introduce a little truth and some perspective into Jackson County’s “Solid Waste Woes” published last week in your paper. Although I was glad to see any article on recycling in the paper, I was very surprised and disappointed to read that the private waste haulers got top billing as the evil-doers and carried the blame of the headline. To help you get the facts straight, let’s examine the problem point by point as presented in the article.

First of all, the commissioners have never invited the private waste haulers who operate in the county to a meeting of any kind to try to understand the unique problems our area presents. GDS Inc. considers it unprofitable to provide residential service to the outlaying areas of our county, preferring instead to stay close in town where the roads are even and paved, and the business opportunities close together. Prohibited from doing business in our own town (except for Country Collections), the private haulers are left to make a marginal living in the county providing service to those persons either unwilling or unable to go to the SRCs. In this way, the prime business opportunities are handed to GDS and the profits sent out of the county to be spent elsewhere instead of being available to support our own local businesses. There is a place for all of us, for garbage matters can be large or small, but those of us who pay taxes here and are trying to make a living here cannot get the attention of our own local officials.

The county spends over $3 million a year in solid waste removal costs. Some of that goes toward the maintenance and eventual closing of the landfill (a lined landfill) in Macon County. Some of the money goes to pay the tipping fees for the garbage collected at the SRCs and then to the Macon landfill, and a big chunk goes to GDS. This pays for the employees and the SRCs they “manage” (none are allowed to work full time, therefore unable to achieve full benefits), pays for the rental equipment that GDS provides, pays for the transportation of the garbage to the landfill, and pays for the additional “pulls”  the emptying of containers with trash and recyclables whether they are full or not.

Last but not least, the county pays Webster Enterprises - a non-profit organization - a stipend of a little more than $9,000 a month to recycle. Unable to make this venture profitable, Webster Enterprises has in turn subcontracted this work out to Country Collections, a for-profit company. The county taxpayers’ money earmarked for non-profit organizations is then used to help pay the expense of the for-profit company. In addition, county money is again used to transport recyclable materials collected at the SRCs to the doorstep of the for-profit company at no cost, saving that business the expense of buying materials and paying transportation costs. In this way, it appears the county pays for and subsidizes the operating and material costs for this private company at taxpayers’ expense.

Scott Welch of GDS cited in the article that private haulers used the SRCs on 864 instances in January, costing the county “approximately $43,000 per month in tipping fees.”

This is purely an attempt to demonize the haulers in the arena of public opinion and is completely untrue. Private haulers do not pay tipping fees for residential garbage because the customers have already paid for use of the SRCs through their taxes. The haulers haven’t cost the county anything. We are only delivering that which would be brought otherwise, maybe less, as my company requires recycling to join.

Personally, I doubt the numbers used and feel the “simplistic scenario of one ton of garbage per trip” is highly improbable. I know what a ton feels like in my vehicle, and the only way that I can even come close to that figure is with flattened cardboard stacked to the roof. Consider a moment the bulky nature of bags of garbage, and logic dictates that you will be well out of room before you can even think about meeting weight, and I think one-quarter ton would be closer to the mark. If that were the case, the result would be more like $10,750 to haul garbage for approximately 22,000 homes. My reckoning is probably off somewhat because we are committed recyclers, and our quarter town loads are again cut in half to be reclaimed and recycled. There are only two compactor trucks that I know of in use that could even possibly make a “ton trip,” and the nature of the SRCs requires that these vehicles go to the landfill. Furthermore, these are obviously flatlanders we are dealing with here that have not experienced the thrill and excitement of trying to turn around in some of the driveways up in these “hoots and hollers” in a loaded half-ton pickup truck, much less anything larger. As for the numbers used, well, let’s say that each “instance” represented 25 households, probably a low average. That translates into 21,600 fewer cars going through the SRCs in January, and 259,200 fewer cars throughout the year.

The article said that “commissioners realize they could have a problem with unethical haulers.” That is just not true. The commissioners know they have a problem with unethical haulers, but without an ordinance in place to address commercial and residential solid waste disposal methods, no action can be taken against them, and the residents of Jackson County continue to pay for haulers’ abuses of the system. There is garbage being brought in from South Carolina to the Cashiers SRC, and many suspect others are bringing in commercial garbage from other counties. The commissioners have been made aware of this and were presented with a solid waste ordinance from their appointed Solid Waste Advisory Board that would have prevented these abuses over a year ago, but have yet to act upon it in any way.

GDS is taking full advantage and laughing all the way to the bank. I saw Jay Denton over two years ago when he first came into office and expressed my concern for the need of a commercial solid waste/recycling policy to avoid laying the expenses of commercial business onto the resident, which is the current practice. Nothing has happened. Commis-sioner Franz Whitmire says there is not enough recycling being done, but to achieve the goals that the county would like will require more than friendly encouragement to the public.

Jeanne McElroy and Scott Welch of GDS noted that they “invariably found commercial and/or construction debris mixed in with the garbage at the SRCs.” Whose fault is that? Who is being paid with our tax dollars to manage the SRCs? Who is being paid with our tax dollars and supposed to be responsible for controlling what goes into the compactors? GDS! It’s like letting the fox watch over the hen house.

We have a “big ticket” item in the expense column of the county budget for the removal of municipal solid waste. Rates charged by GDS support a large global garbage network, SRCs, employees are not given the backing and support needed to do their jobs properly, and numbers are being manipulated to deride local business. Private haulers feel out of touch with their own local governments and are kept at a disadvantage from making an honest living. We do not have a solid waste ordinance of any kind in place to prevent abuses and guide the public, and we have residents that are paying ever-increasing fees for the waste disposal expenses of local businesses and residents living outside of the county. Unpopular as it may be, there is no recycling policy. This in itself, all haulers large and small would agree, would bring about a marked reduction in the expense of waste disposal.

This is a “wake up” call to the county commissioners and a plea to not accept the first dog and pony show that presents itself at the door. You have much to do of far greater importance before pointing a finger at the public. Resist being swayed by the interests of “big business,” pass a solid waste ordinance that is equitable and understandable to all who use it, and husband our faltering recycling program.

Let’s put the responsibility of our solid waste woes exactly where they belong instead of inventing scapegoats. The commissioners are responsible for passing the laws and wisely making the choices that will hopefully benefit everyone. We are all responsible - each and every individual - for what goes into those compactors and what that will cost the county. To continue to think that what you throw away is of no concern to others is self-indulgent because in the long run it effects everyone paying taxes in this county. The private waste haulers are not the problem, only, in a sense, the messenger. Don’t kill the messenger.

Laurie Dorris,
President,
Earthworks Recycling

 

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