Here we go again!

February 03, 2008 01:05 am

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The garbage issue is back again. The supervisors are not satisfied with the voters' choice with two votes on this issue. Why do they bring this curbside pickup issue up again and again? I smell something and it isn't the garbage they keep talking about. Is there someone that might benefit from a contract to pick up curbside?
There is no way going door to door down every pig trail and every road and highway in Lauderdale County is going to be cheaper than having a few localized pickup sites. First, the price of fuel is at an all time high and will never go back. If the county does this, it will need to have more employees, more equipment, more fuel, more liability. If it is contracted out to another company (which I think is the plan) we will be at their mercy every time they want more money and decide not to pickup until we pay. What if for some reason you are not able to get your garbage to the road, you will have to wait two weeks for pickup. Think about that in the summer with flies and maggots.
Just ride down the roads of the counties that have curbside pickup, like going to Philadelphia, and notice all the tacky contraptions at the highway to put garbage into. You can't control what people will put their trash in or if they even put it into a container, hence animals will be scattering it all over, and you can be assured the people picking up will not pick that up and I'm sure they are not going to care where your cans land when they toss them aside, even rolling or blowing back into the highway will be a problem. We have wandering dogs in our community, to the point that we have to keep our trash in the back of our truck, until we go to the dump.
Imagine the dangers of sitting behind a garbage truck waiting for a chance to pass, because you are late for school, an appointment or work. Now imagine a school bus in this situation, with an impatient driver at the wheel of a vehicle.
Maybe this is why people from other counties use our green boxes. Just take away the boxes and see how much trash gets dumped on the roadside and woodlands of landowners!
I don't mind if they keep less and more controlled sites in central locations around the county and maybe include a place for people to discard non household garbage, which they don't have now or is it a well kept secret.

Muriel Phillips
Meridian