Garbage companies argue against waste plan in court

Gwinnett County erred in granting two nonprofits the authority to regulate solid-waste collection and police powers to enforce the county’s solid-waste ordinance, the attorney for two trash haulers argued in court Wednesday.

Attorney Roy Barnes, representing plaintiffs Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions, painted the arrangement as a private corporation being endowed with powers the county has abdicated.

The haulers want to stop Gwinnett from implementing a new solid-waste disposal program Jan. 2.

The program would cut to two from the current eight the number of residential garbage haulers. It would also mandate recycling and have Gwinnett County Clean and Beautiful and its subsidiary, Gwinnett County Clean and Beautiful Services, run solid-waste disposal operations. Both are private, nonprofit agencies.

Superior Court Judge Michael C. Clark questioned the attorneys representing Gwinnett County and Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful on those two points. He focused on one provision that provides for a $500 fine for those who fail to recycle.

“Wait till you fine someone $500,” the judge told Frank Jenkins, lead counsel for Gwinnett County. “You’re going to hear a shout like you’ve never heard.”

Jenkins stressed that if an injunction were granted, it would create havoc in the county, with many of the eight current haulers in the stages of closing down operations and the two new haulers setting up for business.

But Clark said he would not take those factors into account.

Michael Tennant, lead attorney for Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful and its subsidiary, cited a 2004 Georgia Supreme Court decision that excused counties from antitrust laws in initiating garbage collection.

If the injunction is granted, it could send garbage hauling in Gwinnett County into limbo. Some haulers have already picked up residential waste bins and are decommissioning equipment.

“I don’t want to go down a what-if road today,” said Jane Langley, spokeswoman for Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful. “This is about providing the best service at the best price for the residents.”