Published: October 10, 2009 11:50 pm      

Dumpsters vs. curbside pickup for county garbage

While curbside garbage pickup sounds fine up front, the dumpsters have benefits some county citizens may have failed to consider.

Granted, the dumpsters can be a pain at times because of idiots who dump deer carcasses and bags of fish and those who are too lazy to get out of their car to put the garbage bags in the containers. However, those are the same dolts who will be dumping their trash down side roads.

If I understand correctly, when advertised by the county, bids will be accepted for once-a-week pickup.

What will be the cost per household per month?

Will this be one container per household per week?

Will the homeowner be required to purchase the container?

Will there be a place to carry additional garbage or large items?

If a contract is awarded for curbside pickup at a specific amount per household, will there be a clause to allow a fee increase within a few months if the contractor finds costs are exceeding their projections?

Think about how many roads are in Lauderdale County. I mean the many small side roads that may have two or three houses or, maybe, just one. I live in the southeast, and I'm sure every other area in the county has as many, if not more, little side roads — paved, dirt or sand.

Many county residents live in isolated areas, not even in small communities, but down narrow secondary roads. Curbside pickup would require trucks to travel these roads weekly. Some of these roadbeds are not designed for use by large trucks, especially trucks that will be stopping and starting in all seasons. When the roadbeds deteriorate, where will the money to repair these roads come from? Taxpayers will be tapped for more money for road repairs.

Keep in mind, some of these small roads will dead-end and will have no turn-around for a large truck. That means the homeowners' driveways will be needed to make those turns. No one is going to be repairing private driveways, except those homeowners. There'll be a lot of signs popping up that will read: NO TRUCKS, NO TURNAROUNDS.

Okay, so curbside still sounds fine to some folks.

What are you going to do with garbage all week waiting for your pickup? A household generates a lot of trash in a week. Keep that in containers around your house in a rural area, and in addition to your own pets, you will attract skunks, possums, raccoons, stray dogs and cats, along with field mice, roaches, ants and, in some cases, buzzards. (Don't think smart raccoons and cats can't open garbage cans. Also, skunks love bananas and other sweet treats and will go to great lengths to get them. I know.) Consider a week of dirty diapers accumulating in a garbage bag or can in your backyard.

Many will turn to dumping trash in ravines or down little side roads. Some have already said they will get burn barrels. During dry or windy weather, this could be a dangerous choice.

Now, some places will have to have very early pickup times to give the trucks time to cover all the territory in the county. So, say 4 a.m. may be pickup time for some. Cans must be trundled down the driveway the night before. Maybe the can will not fall victim to roaming animals, if so, you can gather your garbage the next day and have another shot at it the next week.

What about the elderly who are unable to get their garbage cans to the road? Many residents have very long driveways. Most driveways are not paved as they are in the city. Putting a garbage bag in the car or truck to take to the dumpster is possible for many but getting a garbage can to the road may not be physically possible. My driveway is almost a quarter of a mile, so I know I can't roll a can down to the road nor would I want to leave the can at the drive entrance year round.

Yes, I know all other counties have changed to curbside, except Lauderdale. But that doesn't mean dumpsters are wrong. Slap the fines on out-of-county people, city residents who drop their trash in our dumpsters and businesses that bring their tires and roofing to the dumpsters. Include the dolts who drop the fish, dead deer carcasses and live cats and dogs. Try community service as fines. Maybe let some of those that dump trash on the ground around the dumpsters work work with the people who have to clean up after their stupidity. Or, let those who dump live dogs and cats work with animal control.

If curbside works so well, why do Clarke County residents dump their garbage in our dumpsters on a regular basis? Because they don't want garbage around their houses all week is what they have told me. The effectiveness of curbside in Clarke County can't be considered since many Clarke County residents use our dumpsters.

Tate County has curbside pickup that is a cooperative effort of county, city and private business. Home owners are required to purchase a regulation container with their address on it. Every household must pay for pickup, which is $10.50 per month. I a homeowner wants more than one container, he must purchase another container and pay an extra $10.50 per month. Nothing outside the container is collected by the trucks. All homeowners are assessed the fee whether they want it or not. Those who own rental units are charged for each rental unit.

When curbside pickup began in Tate County, a private company had the contract. Tate County took over the service and runs it now. County jail inmates work with the pickup. There is a private recycling center where residents may take magazines, newspapers, broken down cardboard boxes and aluminum cans. An attendant, a city employee, is on duty. The gait is locked unless the attendant is on duty. The recycling center is maintained by Greentree Recycling, who furnishes the recycling containers and collects them. (My family lives in Tate County and I apologize if I have made any errors in the information. The point I am trying to make is that the program is a joint effort.)

I know the mess that can happen at dumpsters. A group of them are near my business. I see and deal with on a daily basis much of the abuse of the system. I see the jerks who are too lazy to get out of their cars and just throw garbage bags on the ground. I also see many residents who take time to pick up some of the trash the jerks throw out. I see people, including myself, feed the starving cats. It's not a perfect system, but neither is curbside.

If the decision is made to go curbside, it will be permanent, according to my supervisor. So be sure to weigh the pros and cons. Talk to your supervisor.



Dorothy Thompson Hagwood

Meridian