It’s too trashy around here

Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Two of the county's garbage collection sites will soon stop accepting tree debris, white goods (stoves, refrigerators, etc.) and waste tires.
The two - the New Monticello and Nash roads collection sites - will also be limiting their hours of operations.
The changes, which the Jefferson County Solid Waste Department (JCSWD) proposed and the Jefferson County Commission approved on Thursday evening, Dec. 6, aim to cut back on the amount and types of trash being dumped at the various collection sites and the resulting cost to the county.
JCSWD Director Beth Letchworth told the commission that if the changes worked, the plan was to apply them to other collection sites. Otherwise, she suggested, the alternatives might be to close certain sites or raise the annual landfill assessment.
Letchworth said the problem was that some of the collection sites, particularly the ones on New Monticello and Nash roads, were being overwhelmed with trash. The department, she said, was now operating seven days a week, largely hauling wood debris to the Tyson landfill site for burning. Those extra hours, she said, translated into additional fuel and personnel costs for the department.
It's officials' suspicion that part of the trash at the collection sites is coming from out-of-county residents.
Per the new rules, white goods and tires must be taken to the JCSWD's main office at 1697 S. Jefferson Street, adjacent the intersection of Waukeenah Highway. The tires, moreover, are limited to four monthly per household. Commercial tires will not be accepted.
As for the wood debris, residents are asked to haul it to the tree debris collection site at 1405 Landfill Road, off Tyson Road and US 19 South, near Lamont.
The other change is that the hours of operation at the New Monticello and Nash roads sites will be limited to 12 hours daily, five days a week, with the exact hours yet to be announced. The New Monticello site will be closed Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the Nash site will be closed Mondays and Wednesdays.
Letchworth said she is in the process of hiring four part-time individuals to man the two sites, with the two individuals at each of the sites to cover the 12 hours in two six-hour shifts. The idea is that these individuals will monitor the two locations, hand out flyers explaining the new rules, and generally keep an eye on the dumping.
For more information, call the JCSWD at (850) 342-0184.