Berkeley County, South Carolina, discusses recycling contract extension

The extended contract also would allow the county to send all recyclables to the company’s Columbia, South Carolina, facility. Starting Sep. 1, 2016, this would require residents to subscribe to a private curbside recycling program or deposit their plastic, glass and aluminum recyclables with regular household waste. The county would continue to collect paper and cardboard at all convenience center and drop-off locations, the article says.

 

The council issued a press release asking residents to attend a meeting July 25, 2016, at the Moncks Corner administrative building to offer their input on the proposed changes. Not all officials are in favor of the alterations. 

 

“Without significantly raising the rates of Berkeley County residents, hauling all recyclables to Sonoco’s Columbia location for single-stream recycling is unfeasible,” Councilman Josh Whitley, chairman of the Human Resources and Purchasing Committee, told the Independent. 

 

He pointed out that the county has been in negotiations with Repower South for two years to open a center to sort recyclables at no extra cost to residents. 

 

“I am confident saying that [the] county council and the county supervisor do not want to significantly raise rates for a short-term fix with Repower South’s single-stream center in Berkeley County on the horizon,” Whitley told the newspaper.