White County Solid Waste Committee recommends closing the Landfill Convenience Center to relocate,
County Executive Denny Wayne Johnson said Waste Management performs developmental work on the landfill as part of a four phase project, further developing the cells of the landfill and profiting the county. Johnson said the construction began to spill into the road, where people go to dump trash at the convenience center nearby. Johnson said the safety measures prevent people from being injured by machinery moving dirt or trucks moving supplies to and from the work site.
“It’s no longer safe to be able to, just everybody and their brother to just be able to just go down there and dump trash,” Johnson said. “So we’re gonna have to move that convenience center so that the landfill people can continue to operate safely without getting anybody hurt.”
Johnson said the roads of the area are structured into a circle. Johnson said if the roads to the landfill are closed, it will not fix the problem. Johnson said closing the road would cause a dead end for residents who need to use the center to drop off trash.
“That is going to divert the traffic into the traffic where the trucks go in and out,” Johnson said. “So that’s just not a safe way to handle it.”
Waste Management allowed the county to relocate the convenience center northeast of the landfill, to the White County Animal Shelter. Johnson said Waste Management has agreed to leave the convenience center there indefinitely, as the county plans to keep the center at this location permanently. Johnson said the land is not part of the infrastructure of the landfill and is about four or five acres.
Johnson said he thinks this would be the best scenario. Johnson said this solution would work best for all parties involved.
“We don’t have to buy anything, purchase more land. It’s close to where it’s going to be before,” Johnson said. “TDEC says that’s going to be the easiest to permit because that’s already on the deed that’s left over there. Just simply kind of all worked together.”
Johnson said the county did not expect Waste Management to progress this quickly through development of the landfill. The Committee verified Waste Management was operating within the boundaries agreed upon in the original meeting. Johnson said the landfill development will be completed in four phases, which will take eight to 10 years each.
In other business, the Budget Committee approved $12,500 of the Tennessee Highway Safety Office EMS grant to be used for extraction equipment.