Waste sites being misused
Bear Creek – The household waste convenience center off Tallulah Road – near Bear Creek Junction – is at the center of a complex problem.
The unstaffed trash site is open around the clock and is where Graham County residents (and visitors) can conveniently toss their household trash into industrial-size garbage containers, paid for by Graham County taxpayers.
There are several problems, though.
First, people are dropping off more than household trash and garbage. A lot of people are dropping off household hazardous waste like paint, solvents, insecticides and herbicides. Some are dropping off construction debris. A few are dropping off old furniture, plumbing fixtures and old appliances and electronics.
Second, some people are going through the effort of bringing their refuse to the convenience sites, but that’s where their effort ends. Instead of putting refuse into the containers, they dump it onto the ground next to the containers. Some do this as a kindness, hoping that someone else might have use for that old piece of furniture or appliance.
And third, some of the people who are doing these things are coming from Cherokee County, where free garbage sites are staffed and open irregular hours, where the landfill charges by the pound for refuse that doesn’t qualify for free dumping – and where staff may be checking IDs, since the services are available for Cherokee County residents only.
Workers with the Graham County Sanitation Department have been noticing the problems for some time.
They arrive at the Bear Creek Junction convenience site – one of five scattered around the county – with a refuse truck designed to pick up containers, dump contents into the back and return the containers to their places.
The trucks aren’t designed to scoop up wall-to-wall garbage scattered on the ground.
For that, it takes workers with shovels.
Gavin Colvard, Graham County Sanitation Director, reported one incident to the board of commissioners during its monthly meeting Sept. 20.
In that incident, someone was caught dumping construction debris on the ground at the Bear Creek convenience site. When confronted, the person offered to put the debris into the container, but this incident was emblematic of all three problems the county is facing: the debris wasn’t put into the containers, the convenience center wasn’t the proper place to leave construction debris, and the person was from Cherokee County.
Graham County Manager Jason Marino said the best solution is to start staffing the convenience sites and he is looking into the details he hopes to present to the board of commissioners later this year. On-site staff would be able to assist elderly and handicapped people dispose of their refuse, he said. On-site staff would also supervise the locations to ensure they are being used appropriately.
But staffing the sites won’t come cheap. Staff will have to be paid and shelters will have to be installed with electricity, heating and air, and a restroom, Moreno said.
And staffing means that each site will be closed after hours, which comes at the cost of convenience.
For some, that convenience is the only thing that keeps them from dumping their waste into the woods and creeks or beside the road. Moreno is hoping that making people aware will help solve the problems and help the county avoid having to make convenience sites less convenient.
How less convenient? Use the Granny Squirrel Solid Waste Convenience Center in Cherokee County as an example.
The nicely landscaped, clean facility includes a small shack for staff. It is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 1-7 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., and closed Sunday.
It does not allow hazardous waste, tires, appliances, metals, brush, business trash or construction debris at the convenience sites, but will take most of that at the central landfill for a price. And it enforces those restrictions. People using the facilities could be asked for their IDs to make sure they are Cherokee County residents.
Current services
Graham County’s sanitation department offers a wide range of services.
The department maintains six waste disposal centers where it provides free disposal of household waste around the clock, all year long. Sites are located at Gladdens Creek, East Buffalo, Snowbird, Johnson Gap and Bear Creek.
A disposal site off Sweetwater Road was closed last year for several reasons, including abuse by users. Graham County does not operate its own landfill. All of the county’s garbage is trucked out of the county.