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1 1 1 ' ' 1 ' I ' , ' ' � i � 1 ' I ■Stanley Keely, of WCG Inc. in Maitland, presented the results of the master plan to the Indian River County Utilities Advisory Committee on Thursday. By MICHAEL KAISER Press Journal Statl Writer Indian River County should implement mandatory garbage co'i- lection and close down the trash transfer stations, according to a re- cently completed Solid Waste Master Plan. The county and its residents would save money if everyone were required to have curbside garbage pickup, consultant Stanley Keely said. Keely, of WCG Inc. in Mait- land, presented the results of the master plan to the Utilities Advi- sory Committee on Thursday. "I know that is tremendously controversial." Keely said. "The major thing it does is allow the shiltdown of the collection centers. They are very expensive to oper- ate." Keely said the current network of transfer stations cost $80 to $90 a ton to operate. Collection fees would also drop because garbage haulers would have more custom- ers and would no longer have to do their own billing, Keely said. About a decade ago, the county utilities staff proposed mandatory garbage collection, but a citizen outcry defeated it. The county eventually did adopt curb- side recycling of newspaper, plas- tics and glass. Under the current system, all property owners pay a landfill as- sessment of $76 per year to pay for garbage, disposal. For wllection, residents either haul thew own gar- bage to one of five transfer sta- tions or pay a hauler to pick it up at the curb. In the unincorporated area of the county, voluntary curb side collection costs $148 per year, Keely said. For residents who pay for col- lection, such a system is more ex- pensive than in neighboring coun- ties, Keely said. While residents in Indian River pay a total of $224 for collection and disposal, resi- dents in St. Lucie County pay $156 and Brevard County $152. "You can see you're out of whack here. That's kind of dra- matically different," he said. "I certainly think they're going to see some savings on the collection side." The system can also be ineq- uitable because residents who pay for collection are also paving for the maintenance and operation of the transfer stations, Utilities Di- rector Don Hubbs said. "If you're doing voluntary col- lection at the curb, you're also paying for the free (transfer sta- tion) access that you're not using," he said. Keely said the cost reduction is difficult to quantify until the col- lection contracts are renegotiated or put out to bid, but residents could expCct a reduction of at least 10 percent. That's the reduction that residents saw in St. Lucie County, which recently instituted mandatory pickup, he said. Most members of the utilities committee were supportive of mandatory collection, at least in the more heavily populated areas of the county. "Countywide collection is the way we're going to have to go; it's just a matter of time," member Frank Oberbeck said. "Another problem is (illegal) dumping throughout the county by people who are too Lary to go to the transfer station. Mandatory collec- tion would reduce that." Commissioner Stanbridge advised she had received numerous phone calls after this matter had been reported twice in the Press Journal. She called on Utility Services Director Donald R. Hubbs to clarify. Utility Services Director Donald R. Hubbs explained that a Master Plan is in the works and called the newspaper article "premature". Mandatory collection is just orae ofthe many issues that the Utility Advisory Committee (UAC) is discussing. The initiati�✓es will have to come before the Board of County Commissioners first and will be approached one - December 12, 2000 143 8K1i�PG473