Officials said they hope changes will soon be made to Rowan County’s landfill.
The dump has been in operation since the early 1980s under several different owners but is now owned and operated by Waste Management.
Judge Executive Harry Clark said the county isn’t satisfied with the work being done at the landfill currently. He and other officials are attempting to work out a new host agreement with Waste Management.
“What’s happened is, they have increased their intake that they can’t handle it and cover it appropriately as they’re required to do by law. So, that’s where all the violations are coming from,” he said. “What we want to do is get it to a manageable level where they can cover it every night just like they’re supposed to, and do the maintaining of the roads and do those things they’re supposed to be doing.”
Clark said he hopes the whole issue will be resolved in the coming months.
“They have our proposed host agreement in their hands now, reviewing it. They also have our franchise agreement for the trash pickup in their hands. I’m sure they have some issues with it, because we were pretty stringent on what our requirements were to host this dump,” he said.
In addition to Rowan and some smaller surrounding counties, the landfill accepts waste from Scott County. Officials said the additional trash means more tonnage per day than can be managed.
Under the proposed host agreement, Waste Management would be required to reduce the amount of garbage they accept each day, cover new waste every day, and wash trucks to limit the amount of mud they track onto roads. Clark said these measures will reduce the smell and other issues originating from the landfill.
The Judge Executive said people in the area around the landfill will be able to see an immediate improvement in smell and other issues once it’s in effect.