Gwinnett Imposes $500 Fine For Recycling Violations
Share this post by email - No Comments - Add A Comment »By PATRICK FOX
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, December 04, 2008
While neighboring counties encourage recycling, Gwinnett County’s new solid waste management ordinance puts teeth into it. The ordinance provides for a civil fine of $500 for violations, which includes those who fail to “source separate residential recovered materials.”
Mandatory recycling is not common in metro Atlanta, but Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said the move is in line with a state policy that local governments develop plans to reduce solid waste by 25 percent.
“We want to save landfills as long as we can,” Bannister said. “Nobody wants to open up a new landfill.”
The state has tied solid waste reduction to applications for new landfills.
“We don’t intend for this to be the garbage gestapo, running around, looking in people’s garbage about what’s there and what’s not there,” said Connie Wiggins, executive director of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, which is administering Gwinnett’s waste disposal program. “I believe the fine applies to all categories, and certainly, if we saw excessive abuses of materials being thrown in the garbage.”
The big concern, Wiggins said, is mixing garbage in the recycling container.
“[It] causes contamination,” she said, “and ¦ it ends up going to a landfill anyway.”
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Gwinnett Won’t Take Action Against Hauler Fees
Share this post by email - No Comments - Add A Comment »By PATRICK FOX
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Gwinnett County is conceding there may be nothing it can do to stop waste collection companies from charging customers a deactivation fee when service ends Dec. 31.
County Administrator Jock Connell said attorneys have determined the two companies who have notified customers of these fees are probably within their rights.
Late last month, the county announced it would take action against Waste Industries and its $150,000 performance bond for allegedly violating the county’s solid waste ordinance. The action came after the company notified customers of a $23.50 fee for added costs for closing its operations.
Back in September, Allied Waste implemented the same fee.
Under the county’s licensing agreement with haulers, customers must be given a 30-day notice of a rate change.
“We regret the citizens find themslevs in this situation” Connell said, ” but the county’s position is it’s a private matter between the citizen and hauler. We really can’t get into giving advice on what they should do.”
Beginning Jan. 2, the county’s solid waste and recycling program will be administered by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful. Its approximately 180,000 residences will be serviced by two haulers selected through a bidding process the agency administered.
Click here for more from the Gwinnett Daily Post…
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