Curbside trash collection urged

County task force recommends fee hike, no new center

Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008

The Charles County Solid Waste Task Force called on the county to halt the construction of any new convenience centers, raise the per-bag fee the county charges to dispose of household trash and begin a program of municipal curbside trash collection.

The recommendations were a radical departure from the plans the county was considering, which include constructing two new convenience centers, making their "tag-a-bag" program free and creating a privately run transfer station to export the county's trash.

The task force dismissed the county's plans to build new convenience centers as too expensive, too narrow and too inefficient. They said a collection contractor could offer a wider range of collection and recycling options at a cheaper price.

The task force also said that the county's plan to not charge for bagged trash at the landfill would discourage recycling, draw customers away from collection contractors and vastly inflate the cost of the program. They called for the county to raise the tag-a-bag price from 70 cents to $2.10 a bag, making the program pay for itself.

The task force called on the county to begin mandating municipal curbside collection by July 2010 as called for in the county's solid waste management plan.

The group said such a program would organize and reduce trash truck traffic, encourage recycling and reduce air pollution.

They suggested that the program could be funded by raising the environmental service fee on property tax bills from $68 to approximately $300 a year.

"Our plans for a transfer station fell through, so this is another way to look at the future," said commissioners' President F. Wayne Cooper (D).

The county issued a request for proposal earlier this year, asking for a private waste company to build and operate a transfer station on the site of the county's landfill. The RFP received no bidders.

Cooper asked how the county could get a comprehensive trash collection program up and running in 18 months.

"You don't have to jump into all county homes immediately," said Larry Schindel, chairman of the task force. He suggested that the county could start by collecting in the denser parts of the county's Waldorf development district.

"The first question we might get is how people can opt out of that system," observed Commissioner Gary V. Hodge (D). He asked how the commissioners would get public support for such a system.

"Money talks," Schindel said, arguing that the system would be cheaper than the gas and fees that would be required from citizens if the county were to maintain its current system. "They're going to get more value for their money."

The commissioners accepted the task force's report, but did not vote to implement its recommendations.

jfriess@somdnews.com