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Due to a recently
received grant from the State of Tennessee Department of Environment
and Conservation totaling $250,000, county crews have begun installing
new, current state-of-the-art solid waste compactors at convenience
centers in Decatur County. Work began this week at Jeannette and
Fairgrounds convenience centers.
According to County Mayor Kenneth Broadway, these new compactors with
compatible containers will be installed at all five convenience
centers in Decatur County within the next few weeks. Broadway stated
the grant also provided for a new specific designed heavy-duty
transporter truck, to move the containers between the landfill and
convenience centers. All compactors with containers and new container
transport truck have been delivered. All convenience centers will be
converted to the new system in the very near future provided suitable
weather prevails, according to Mayor Broadway.
A new convenience center at Bob’s Landing Road near the county
landfill, equipped with a new compactor system will be opened for
public service soon, with funding from the recent grant. Broadway
stressed two major points concerning the new Bob’s Landing Center;
first of all, it provides a much needed service to a large number of
residents in the immediate and surrounding area, secondly, due to
being located near the landfill, transportation cost from the new
center to the landfill is expected to be less than one dollar per ton.
The new center at Bob’s Landing Road will bring the total convenience
centers in the county to five. The other four are located at
Jeannette, Decatur County Fairgrounds, Mt. Lebanon and Wylie Gardner
Cemetery Lane in Bath Springs.
Presently, transporting solid waste from convenience centers to the
county landfill costs our county approximately $26 per ton. With the
new system in operation the cost is expected to drop to less than $4
per ton, saving the county more than $150,000 annually. The two
trucks presently in use hauls approximately one ton per trip. The new
compactors can compress up to 14 tons per container, which will then
be transported to the landfill by the new container transporter truck
as one load.
The Mayor happily reemphasized that all this is available at no cost
to taxpayers. It took time, hard work, patience and determination to
acquire the grant, but quickly added, it’s worth all the effort to
make this available to our citizens and save the County money. Savings
are expected to run into millions over the long term.
Presently, in our convenience centers each year, county residents
generate approximately seven thousand tons of solid waste. Due to a
contractual agreement between the County and Waste Services of America
in 1996, there is no fee for dumping residential waste into the
landfill, which is an additional huge savings for residents of Decatur
County. Additionally, the County Solid Waste Fund also receives
approximately $200,000 revenue from the landfill annually which helps
fund the day-to-day operations of the solid waste department and
convenience centers. |
Pictured planning for
the site is Kenneth Broadway, Mr. Whitsitt, Parce Collett, and
attendant, Welton Camper |
