Pine Ridge, SC (Paul Kirby) - Effective November 1st, 2018, The Town of Pine Ridge will enter into a new garbage contract with Tyler Sanitation of Aiken, South Carolina. Under the terms of that contract, Tyler will provide garbage service to all residents of Pine Ridge that wish to receive curbside garbage pickup within the town. The total monthly cost will be $14.10 for household garbage only.
According to a release from the town, it was cost prohibitive for Tyler to provide yard trash and recycling services as has been offered in the past. This is the same situation that South Congaree recently found themselves in when they dropped the pickup of recyclables and yard debris from their service. Many people have been shocked to learn that sanitation companies don’t get paid when they drop off recyclables, they have to pay a company to take it. As raw materials for things like plastic bottles have become cheaper to obtain, recycling old materials made of the same compounds has become more expensive and less attractive. In short, it’s less expensive to make new pellets for plastic bottles than it is to sort through recycled ones, melt them down, and go through the process of getting them ready to form those into containers and other things.
According to Pine Ridge, Tyler Sanitation was the only bidder to provide garbage service to that town’s residents. Few garbage companies want the business of dealing with household waste from small Lexington County’s towns because there’s simply no profit in it. These are businesses, and in many cases, less than 20% of the residents of a rural area like Pine Ridge or South Congaree choose to avail themselves of garbage pickup. When a truck passes ten homes to pick up the trash of one house, that makes it extremely unprofitable.
In Pine Ridge’s letter to their citizens it said that Tyler Sanitation has assured them that this will be a smooth transition from the previous provider. All Pine Ridge residents will receive information from Tyler Sanitation in the next few weeks explaining the service that they will be providing. Should you have any questions regarding their service or would like to establish service with Tyler Sanitation you may contact them at 803-648-6714.
