Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, August 2, 2023/Page 2A Ulie Afruance
Disposal of Alamo’s Leaves and Limbs Poses
Dilemma as Area Landfill Makes Changes
Photo by Deborah Clark
CONVENIENCE CENTER — Wheeler County Commission Chairman Keith McNeal
stands outside of one of the County's Convenience Centers, which was opened in
March 2021. The County has been contracting to haul its waste to Telfair County, but
the landfill there won't be accepting disposals from outside counties as of August 1 as
preparations are made to extend the footprint of the landfill. This has caused a num
ber of area counties to have to look elsewhere for a dump location.
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
The City of Alamo is
facing a dilemma with the
disposal of leaves and limbs
collected from residents’
property But that is just
one of the issues brought
about by changes in Telfair
County’s waste disposal
rules.
Currently the City
has a contract with Re
public Services to collect
and dispose of refuse at
the Telfair County landfill,
but the City was recently
notified that on August 1
Telfair would cease accept
ing refuse from outside its
borders. As Republic has
to travel to a more distant
location to dump, costs
will increase. For now, it is
looking like the disposal of
leaves and limbs may not
be included in the new City
of Alamo waste disposal
contract to be negotiated in
January.
Because the price of
disposing of leaves and
limbs has continued to
climb, with the city having
to augment what citizens
pay for yard debris pickup
with money from the city’s
Water and Sewer account,
the service has become
cost prohibitive. “So, we
are looking at no longer of
fering that service (leaves
and limbs pickup),” Coun-
cilwoman Laura Brownley
said. “We are stuck between
a rock and hard place. It will
cost the citizens too much
to continue.”
City Manager Floyd
said that the City, under
its present contact with
Republic, is paying $175
a load for the collection of
leaves and limbs. “Today
(July 17), I was quoted a
new price of $350 a load
plus $40 a ton.” Prices for
garbage collection are also
going up.
In the City of Alamo,
burning leaves and limbs
is not the preferred op
tion, and dumping, ex
cept in permitted areas, is
strictly prohibited by the
EPD. Floyd said dumping
the sludge from the city’s
wastewater treatment plant
was also impacted by the
announcement from Telfair
County. “We are currently
pumping the sludge into a
bag that filters wastewater
and contains sludge, which
turns into a disposable
powder.” This method of
waste disposal will buy the
City up to five years’ time
until the contents of the bag
need to be disposed. Floyd
said the cost for collection
and disposal of the sludge
went from $175 a load to
$70 a ton, or $750 a load.”
The discussion by the
City of Alamo on the issue
City of Alamo
Councilwoman
Laura Brownley
of leaves and limbs ended
without a solution, but
Council members vowed to
continue seeking new op
tions. In the immediate fu
ture, yard debris can go into
garbage cans, but obviously
that does not go for limbs,
Brownley said.
The county’s other mu
nicipality, Glenwood, is not
looking at the same prob
lem as Alamo, said Mayor
G.M. Joiner. Glenwood has
no leaves and limbs pickup
service and its garbage has
been going to Toombs
County landfill for years.
Glenwood also contracts
with Republic. “It’s a service
that has nowhere to go but
up,” Joiner said, referencing
the escalating costs of insur
ance, fuel, and equipment
involved in refuse transpor
tation and disposal.
Wheeler County main
tains four convenience cen
ters — with a fifth center
under construction and
another planned — where
roll-offs accept metal and
furniture. But the sites do
not currently accept limbs
and leaves. Toxic and haz
ardous disposals like batter
ies, paint cans, and oil are
also prohibited.
County Commission
Chairman Keith McNeal
said Wheeler County,
which contracts with Ry-
land Environmental, is also
facing an immediate issue
with refuse disposal. Af
ter August 1, the county’s
roll off containers will be
transported to Toombs
County, costing the county
$5 per ton more to dis
pose of waste. While the
county does not currently
haul limbs and leaves to
Toombs, the landfill there
is equipped to accept those
items at $35 per ton. Mc
Neal said in an effort to save
money, the county is invest
ing in a truck to haul its roll
off containers.
Adjacent Laurens
County has refused to ac
cept Wheeler’s refuse at its
landfill. The county’s larg
est employer, Wheeler Cor
rectional Facility, also con
tracts with Ryland and also
sends its waste to Toombs
County.
Director of the Tel
fair Landfill Andy Selph
explained the reason for
the refuse delivery hiatus.
“We’re not closing the land
fill, just limiting its use until
we can build new cells. If
we did not slow down what
we are receiving, we would
reach capacity before get
ting the new cells built.” He
explained that if the landfill
comes within 90 days of
capacity, it has to go into a
closure phase. “We’re talk
ing about spending $2 to $
3million to cap the existing
landfill off, so we are limit
ing what we bring in so we
won’t have to go into that
closure phase.”
The Telfair landfill, lo
cated in Jacksonville, has
refuse come from the coun
ties of Ware, Toombs, Jeff
Davis, Dodge, Appling, as
well as adjacent Wheeler
County. “It’s going to hurt
us for a while. We will lose a
lot of income while we have
to divert garbage,” Selph
said. He noted that a lot of
people think their tax dol
lars support the operation
of the landfill, but that is not
so, Selph said. The landfill is
self-sustaining through the
fees it charges. “We get $0
tax dollars to operate,” the
director pointed out.
The Telfair landfill
footprint is 69 acres and
plans are to expand it by 14
to 15 acres. This will extend
the life of the landfill by
about 15 years, Selph said,
adding, “We hope to be
back to normal operations
by mid-2025.”
S IAD(D KM. Solution ’ page 12A
Fun By The
Numbers
Like puzzles?
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Crossword Puzzle
Solution, page 12A
CLUESACROSS
1. Indicates tire pressure
4. Request
7. Clairvoyance
10. 007’s creator
11. Adult male
12. Scandinavian god of battle
13. Cloths spread on a coffin
15. Breeze through
16. Lady fish genus
19. It’s good to take them
21. Noble-governed territory
23. Members of U.S. Navy
24. Card game resembling
rummy
25. Affected by injury
26. Member of a Semitic people
27. Left
30. Woman’s cloak
34. S. American plant
CLUES DOWN
1. Plant of the nettle family
2. Fit to be sold
3. Rather
4. Collected
5. A baglike structure in a plant
or animal
6. Patella
7. Ageless
8. Lists of course requirements
9. Pokes at
13. TV network
14. They
17. Cooking hardware
18. U.S. Army title
20. Iron-containing compound
22. Swiss river (alt. spelling)
27. Former French coin
28. Electronic countermeasures
29. Taxi
35. Prohibit
36. Offense
41. Dish soap brand
45. Ottoman military commanders
46. Ancient Greek City
47. Makes unhappy
50. Discuss again
54. Medical instrument
55. Promote
56. A beloved carb
57. Tag the base runner to get him out
59. Prehistoric people
60. Large African antelope
61. Vehicle
62. Georgia rockers
63. Scientific instrument (abbr.)
64. A major division of geological
time
65. Attempt
31. Helps little firms
32. Woeful
33. Midway between northeast
and east
37. Glowing
38. Tasks which should be done
39. An informal body of friends
40. Intrinsic nature
41. Neural structures
42. Brews
43. Where ships unload cargo
44. Singer
47. Sino-Soviet block (abbr.)
48. Southwest Scotland town
49. Most worthless parts
51. Viscous
52. Put to work
53. Old world, new
58. Swiss river
Public Notice
The Heart of Georgia Altamaha
Workforce Development Board will
meet Tuesday, August 8, 2023, at
10:30 a.m., at Southeastern Technical
College Economic Development Center
Located at 100-A Brinson Road,
Vidalia, Georgia. Committee meetings
will be held at 10:00 a.m. These
meetings are open to the public.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Program.
Auxiliary aids and services are available
upon request to individuals with disabilities.
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