Lexington, SC 11/19/2024 (Paul Kirby) – During last weeks public hearing on mandatory curbside garbage pickup for all residents, the overwhelming consensus from citizens in attendance was that they were not interested in being forced to use that type of service. According to Councilmember Todd Cullum, this had a first reading that passed but the purpose of passing that reading was so the council could hear from the people on this issue.
“We have talked about this every few years for as long as I have been on council,” Cullum said. “This time, it was brought up and moved through the first reading because we wanted to hear what the residents of the county thought about it. After hearing from them last week, it was clear that they wanted to continue the handling of solid waste as we deal with it now,” Cullum said.
Currently, the county’s system allows residents who want curbside solid waste pickup to contract with a hauler that covers the particular area or region of the county they live in. If they don’t want their solid waste picked up at the curb, they can haul their own trash and waste to one of the county’s convenience stations. Those are open on Sunday afternoons, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday all day. Solid waste can also be hauled to the county’s Edmund landfill on the days that the convenience stations are closed. Household garbage is deposited in the transfer building and yard trash, organic and construction debris is taken further down into the landfill where it’s buried by a large tractor.
Cullum said that dealing with solid waste is more of a challenge than most people understand. “From the day a baby is born until the day a person dies, they create solid waste that must be dealt with. Although our public hearing last week makes it clear that people want things to stay as they are, that doesn’t mean that things will stay as they are forever. I expect we will need to build more convenience stations in the future to meet the demands. I could also see some urban zones existing where everyone’s solid waste is picked up curbside. I think there will always be a need for convenience stations in the future. Even though I live in a city that has mandatory curbside pickup that I pay for in taxes, I still occasionally have the need to visit the convenience station nearest to me. Christmas is a prime example of when I might need to go to the closest station. As for now, we don’t plan to change anything at all. Curbside solid waste pickup will be an option but we won’t mandate you use it.”
