Tim Walker
AMR Reporter
At an October 15 special meeting of the Pocahontas County Solid Waste Authority (SWA), members voted to release draft copies of their 2026 Commercial Solid Waste Facility Siting Plan and their 2026 Comprehensive Litter and Solid Waste Control Plan.
These very large and extensive plans will be made available to the public beginning October 30, 2025, with copies being made available for public review at the Solid Waste Authority Office, in the libraries, and at the Pocahontas County Clerk’s Office during regular business hours.
These are the required five-year updates, with the last ones having been done in 2019.
There will be a public hearing about these plans December 3 at the courthouse as required by state law, and they will not be formerly approved by the SWA until after that. These plans can also be amended at future SWA meetings even prior to the next mandated five-year update. Following public meetings and comments, the SWA will adopt the programs which will not become effective until they are also approved by the State Solid Waste Management Board.
A very brief description of the plans:
The Commercial Solid Waste Facility Siting Plan addresses the solid waste collection and disposal as it now exists. It is designed to inform residents about the Solid Waste sites in the county and the planning for commercial Solid Waste facilities that are designed to provide continued efficient, safe, and healthy solid waste collection and disposal in the most economic manner possible.
This plan details the Solid Waste Facility Zones and the reason these Siting Zones are established in the county. It defines: Landfill Classes; Recycling Facilities; Transfer Stations; Material Recovery Facilities; Commercial Composting Facilities, and Energy Recovery Facilities. It explains which of these are in use in the county, and which are not, and why.
The Comprehensive Litter and Solid Waste Control Plan includes the stated goal for the SWA to establish a Transfer Station at the site of the landfill when it closes in 2026. It also describes the 20-year outlook for the county; the current solid waste status here; county, municipal, and private haul-er cooperation; the laws against unauthorized and illegal dumping; litter prevention and clean-up; how litter violations are dealt with; the green box program, including the mandatory garbage disposal laws (or Green box Fees) and the recycling programs.
In other business, the SWA approved:
• the $18.105.25 bid by Irving Electric to repair the greenhouse at the landfill.
• payment to Summersville Glass of $510 to repair the broken windshield on the garbage truck.
• a motion to have their engineer draw up a bid package for the future transfer station.
