Editor;
As an observer at the 4/12/24 special session of the County Commission, I observed a few things:
1) The SWA has leased the landfill property for ~40 years, and only now realizes that the lease would have to continue indefinitely unless they buy the property. To which I can only blink and say “really?”
2) The new proposal is to purchase the landfill property (after leasing it for 40 years) and construct a transfer station on the site. How can it be less expensive to haul refuse to another landfill and pay the tipping fees there than it is to purchase (not lease) a new landfill site in the county? One thing we do have in this county is land. Why are we not using that to our advantage? The idea of creating a new landfill in the county finally did come up, but was discouraged because of a ridiculous-seeming quote of ~$2.5M per acre to prepare the site. I will note that this estimate came from a person who resides outside Pocahontas County. I find it hard to believe. I think the SWA owes it to itself and the county citizens to do a little research and get some unbiased numbers to compare the costs of a transfer station vs. a new landfill.
Since the discontinuation of the recycling program at the green boxes, this citizen has been hauling her recycling (every other month) to an out of state municipality that has a lovely recycling facility. I recycle ~60% of the volume of my household waste, no exaggeration.
By taking the business view of a landfill, where it makes money on tipping fees, one encourages the filling of said landfill. I would suggest taking a resource view of this municipal property instead, and think about minimizing the volume of refuse delivered to make the resource last longer.
How does one do that?
It’s been said before: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. In the long-term analysis, I would bet it makes business sense, as well.
Carla Beaudet
Green Bank
