By By Sheila Blackmon/The Meridian Star
Feb. 28, 2001
DECATUR Newton County residents will be on new garbage routes Monday, and county supervisors are hoping new equipment and a new way to handle garbage pick-up may save money.
Supervisors discussed money-saving options for several months before deciding on the new system in October. They purchased an 18-wheeler truck for $12,000 in January. It will be used to pull the walking-floor trailer.
Last month, they purchased the rest of the equipment the walking floor tractor, three Waters International 4700 truck bodies and three compactors for about $238,000.
After giving a six-month notice, they canceled a contract with Waste Management for transporting garbage from a Landfill Road rubbish site in the west end of the county to the landfill they use in Lake.
Supervisors say the new system is a cheaper way to collect and haul the county's waste.
Johnson said the new compactor trucks can haul more trash in fewer trips than the county's box trucks that haul loose garbage.
County employees will collect garbage door-to-door in the compactor trucks and transport it to the walking floor tractor. Garbage will then be transported to the Lake landfill in the walking floor tractor.
Residents' monthly $7 garbage fees for weekly pick-ups are not expected to change.
The new system may save additional money next year when supervisors take bids from landfills for tipping fees.
Smith said the tipping fee is currently set at about $21 per ton.
Sheila Blackmon is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at sblackmon@themeridianstar.com.