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Comprehensive Plan Solid Waste Sub -Element <br />landfill through the five CCCs. This is a significant drop from the more than thirty percent (30%) in <br />1998. Even with this reduced activity level, however, the County must coordinate and maintain the <br />five CCCs at a cost of about $2 million per year, an amount that accounts for more than fifteen <br />percent (15%) of the yearly SWDD operation costs. <br />Another problem associated with the existing collection and transfer system is illegal dumping. This <br />problem has two parts. One part is the improper disposal of solid waste along County roadways and <br />on private property. The other part is improper use of the five CCCs. With the existing system, the <br />service area for each transfer station is about 5 miles, and the CCCs are not open 7 days a week. <br />This causes some inconvenience and results in illegal dumping. <br />In response to illegal dumping problems, the County adopted Chapter 973, Public Nuisance, of the <br />Indian River County Code of Laws and Ordinances. According to Chapter 973, an accumulation of <br />debris, garbage, junk, trash, weeds, unserviceable vehicles, dead trees posing a health or safety <br />hazard, or other noxious materials may be declared a public nuisance. Pursuant to the provisions of <br />Chapter 973, the county may abate public nuisances if property owners fail to take action. The <br />Environmental Planning and Code Enforcement Section of the Indian River County Planning <br />Department administers this ordinance. Also, Chapter 204, Solid Waste Disposal, of the County <br />code has specific sections regarding littering and use of CCCs and the landfill within the County. <br />In the future, the County has three options for modifying the County's existing collection system. <br />The County could: (i) keep the CCCs open seven days a week with longer operational hours; (ii) <br />build more CCCs; or (iii) establish a countywide mandatory solid waste collection system. To have <br />CCCs open seven days a week or build additional centers, the county would incur additional costs <br />that, according to the SWDD, are not justifiable. For example, it would cost an additional <br />$400,000.00 per year to operate another CCC that could be open 5 days a week. The SWDD <br />estimates that it would cost another $300,000 per year to keep the existing CCCs open seven days a <br />week. <br />If a mandatory door-to-door solid waste collection system is initiated, the need for the CCCs would <br />be greatly reduced. Overall, mandatory solid waste collection could eliminate the costs associated <br />with maintaining the CCCs and reduce illegal dumping. With mandatory door-to-door solid waste <br />collection, illegal dumping would decline because it would be more convenient for residents to have <br />their solid waste removed by curbside collection than by illegally dumping solid waste. From a cost <br />perspective, closing the CCCs could reduce SWDD operational expenses by $2,000,000 a year. <br />Also, the CCC properties could be sold or used for other purposes. <br />If all types of solid waste were collected at the place of generation and transferred directly to the <br />landfill site, there would be less need for coordination, and the County would have better control of <br />the solid waste stream entering the landfill site. Such a mandatory door-to-door solid waste <br />collection system would provide for better control of the solid waste stream entering the landfill site. <br />Consequently, the County's policy should be to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a mandatory <br />collection system in the future. <br />Processim/Disposal <br />Community Development Department Indian River County 23 <br />