Marlinton Mayor’s Corner

Garbage vs Trash
Green Box System vs TOM dumpsters

I have written about this issue in the past, but a question came up last week that gives me the opportunity to revisit the topic. 

So, this week we are talking trash – and garbage – and the difference between the two. The words garbage and trash are commonly used together but they represent two different categories of objects. Furthermore, there is no universal definition of garbage and trash and that makes it more difficult for people to understand. In the world of recycling, the separate categories become even more important.

Garbage is not simply waste. Garbage comes mostly from your kitchen. Discarded food or leftovers fall into this category. A major portion of household garbage comes from food packaging, wrapping papers and shopping bags. Town dumpsters are for household garbage and NOT for metals, furniture, tires or appliances.

A special note: cooking grease is an enemy of your plumbing and the sewer system. Pour your bacon grease and fats into an empty coffee container, then put in with household garbage.

Note: Town residents’ lawn clippings, tree limbs or brush can go to the burn-site near the lagoons. 

Trash and other refuse may consist of metals, furniture, tires or appliances and require a special pick-up. These items DO NOT go into your garbage. Note: A special request for pick-up does require a minimal fee. Call the Town office with your request. Building or other construction materials require the services of a roll-off type dumpster. 

And last, and as important: The Town of Marlinton (TOM) dumpsters are green, but they are not part of the county’s Green Box System.

If you believe the TOM green dumpsters are for anyone who pays the “Green Box Fee,” you are wrong. 

Town of Marlinton (TOM) dumpsters are for the customers who are paying a monthly garbage fee to the Town for the right to use them. 

It may be convenient for you to drop garbage in a TOM dumpster, but it costs the Town. 

The only winner is the county landfill and Solid Waste Authority. 

The property owner pays a monthly fee for garbage service, and the Town pays a fee of $72.75 per ton at the landfill.  

The closest Green Box site to Town is off Brush Country Road near the stockyards. 

There is a saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” But lawns are not the place for storage of garbage, trash or treasures. 

Thank you, and pass this on.

Sam