The future of solid waste disposal in Horry County, South Carolina, is now up to several dozen politicians.
A representative of Solid Waste Authority consultant R.W. Beck Inc. on Thursday made the last of a two-week string of presentations to nine county governmental bodies.
Jonathan Burgiel, who spoke before Horry County Council and the Myrtle Beach and Loris city councils, proposes to change the way the county landfill and its programs are funded.
All nine governments must approve the plan.
Burgiel's recommendation would not require any new cost to residents, some of whom would see a slight savings.
Beck was hired last year by the SWA to come up with a secure funding source for the landfill and its services and programs. The SWA now runs the landfill and all of its programs on a $29-a-ton "pay-as-you-throw" tipping fee.
Burgiel recommends charging separately for the cost to run the landfill and the cost to recycle. The tipping fee would be reduced to $19.50 a ton to cover the cost to run the landfill and an additional $7.25-a-ton "generation" fee would be paid by haulers - regardless of where they take the trash - to cover the cost of SWA programs and services not related to the landfill.
The new system ensures that even if haulers decide to truck residents' garbage out of the county, there will still be income to cover the cost of recycling services that range from school educational programs to the operation of its recycling plant.
The Myrtle Beach council listened to the report Thursday morning at a workshop, but few council members had any questions.
Mayor Mark McBride asked city staff to prepare a recommendation on the draft study in expectation of a meeting with the League of Cities.
City Manager Tom Leath said a recommendation could be ready Tuesday.
Later Thursday, Horry County Council received the same presentation but asked questions for more than an hour.
Councilwoman Liz Gilland was concerned the lower tipping fee may encourage waste haulers to bring in garbage from outside Horry.
"It won't create a bonanza of out-of-county waste," Burgiel said, explaining that the overall cost to dispose in Horry wouldn't be that much cheaper. The county could also impose higher rates for those bringing in out-of-county waste.
The SWA needs the cities' and counties' support on the proposal because each city must collect the $7.25 fee.
If the cities and county cannot agree, the backup recommendation is to replace the generation fee with a countywide millage increase for the authority's programs and services.
County Councilman John Kost said the publicly funded $187,000 study was worth every penny.
"All the naysayers need to go dunk their heads in water and get cleansed," Kost said. - The Sun News