2010 News Archive 

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Council weighing solid waste changes

The City Council on Monday agreed to hire a solid waste coordinator to oversee regulation of waste haulers, compliance with state mandates, and implementation of a citywide recycling plan.

The Council also directed staff to recommend revisions to the City's solid waste ordinance to tighten some of the loopholes. A recent City investigation showed that now there are 18 different waste haulers operating in Johns Creek, and no consistency in service or prices.

Some haulers pick up yard trash; some don't. Some pick up large, bulky items; some don't. Some pick up once a week; some twice a week. Some offer recycling; some don't. Among the ones that do offer recycling, some provide big or multiple recycling containers; some offer limited recycling.

Twenty-seven subdivisions are served by four separate trash haulers. One neighborhood has six haulers. Prices range from $11 per month to $27 per month. Some haulers aren't even registered or permitted by the City.

One man who spoke at the City Council meeting said his waste hauler wouldn't give him the same discount as a neighbor and then it abruptly decided to quit serving him.

The coordinator also will ensure the City complies with a state requirement to reduce its waste stream to landfills.

The state mandates that cities prepare and adopt a ten-year Solid Waste Plan that includes recycling, which Johns Creek did in 2008. Under the plan, the City pledged to reduce its waste stream to landfills by 10 percent, or a reduction of about 6.39 pounds per person per day to 5.74 pounds per person per day.

Failure to comply with the Solid Waste Plan jeopardizes the City's eligibility for grants, loans and other aid issued by the State of Georgia and the federal government.

The City requires that haulers provide quarterly reports to the City, but in 2009, none of the haulers provided any information. The City needs the information to document that it is reducing its waste stream.

Many haulers move from city to city without keeping track of who threw away how much stuff, further complicating efforts to document the City's progress in meeting its goals.

Another downside to the current situation is that having multiple haulers running over City streets every day shortens the lifespan of the pavement, adding to expensive road maintenance costs. Some haulers use up to four trucks to serve a neighborhood; one for trash; one for recycling; one for bulky items; and one for yard trimmings.

A typical garbage truck weighs 66,000 pounds when full. Available data shows that the weight of a 66,000-pound garbage truck has an impact of 1,000 to 1,500 individual automobiles on the pavement of local streets.

Council members are considering standardizing container sizes and what the haulers must pick up, requiring recycling and City-specific record-keeping, and adding a $1 residential or 5 percent commercial monthly franchise fee to be used for things like maintaining roads, collecting hazardous waste, and education or beautification efforts. The fee would generate about $450,000 a year.

The coordinator position is currently funded as part of the $17 million contract the City has with CH2M Hill, a private firm hired to provide most day-to-day municipal services.