Group forms to stop out-of-state waste in Greenville
March 31, 2015
GREENVILLE, SC – A group of concerned citizens rallied in front of the Greenville County government offices this morning to voice their concerns over possible 350,000 tons of out-of-state garbage heading to Twin Chimneys landfill.
Calling itself Don’t Dump on Greenville, various speakers including County Councilmen Joe Dill and Lynn Ballard questioned recent actions by county employees to negotiate bringing out-of-state-waste to Greenville at low costs.
“There are just some things you shouldn’t do for money,” Dill said.
Greenville County is expected to make a bid this week to accept 350,000 tons of trash from Henderson, N.C. over the next five years. This trash will be carried on approximately 15,000, 22-ton semi-trucks through the county past roads, schools and churches and to Twin Chimneys Landfill at the southern tip of Greenville.
County Administrator Joe Kernell recently told County Council that the landfill can handle the extra waste, but it is the potential cost that is bothering Council members Dill and Ballard. The County is taking in trash from other counties at a much lower cost than the posted $30 a ton for the landfill and it appears it will do the same with the North Carolina garbage.
They want to pass an ordinance next Tuesday night that if the County were to take out-of-state trash it must charge $30.
“We can’t sell our county for trash,” Ballard said.
Greenville attorney David Wyatt, a partner with Gleaton Wyatt Law Firm, spoke from a legal perspective as well as a personal one. As a resident of northern Greenville, these trucks would be going past his home.
However, he questioned the fairness of Henderson County’s bidding process, which does not require Greenville to offer a disposal fee, but other counties must.
“They are being allowed to see what another County is offering and then deciding if it wants to undercut the price,” Wyatt said. “Can you imagine a for-profit business doing this? Can you imagine the fury?”
Eric Bedingfield, who represented the southern portion of Greenville County from 2002 to 2007 on County Council, said he has issues with the amount of government as well as damage to local roads.
“I’m not comfortable with 15,000 semi-trucks driving past our homes, schools, and churches. Why would we voluntarily put our drivers in more danger on the road,” Bedingfield said. “The worst part about this is that it isn’t even our garbage! Our quality of life suffers so the county can make money off of out-of-state trash.”
