Garbage panel recommends mandatory pick-up

The citizens advisory committee studying the future of Gwinnett County’s solid waste plan is recommending a reduction in truck traffic and mandatory residential garbage service.

The recommendations drawn by the 15-member panel Monday night — after of the last of six public hearings — will be presented to county commissioners as they formulate a new solid waste ordinance. A superior court judge granted an injunction against the county’s last ordinance, passed in October, after two licensed waste haulers filed suit. That case is still pending.

The committee’s draft, finalized after two hours of public comment at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville, calls for establishing exclusive service zones for waste haulers. The panel was divided over whether to allow more than one hauler per zone, but it did suggest that such a program would need to be phased in over time.

The panel leaned heavily in favor of mandatory trash service for all residential properties, although it provided for exceptions, such as business owners with trash service at work and property owners who can prove a residence is unoccupied.

Members were close to unanimous in advocating increased recycling options and establishing some authority to monitor customer complaints.

Earlier in the evening, waste haulers were given an hour to address the panel. Jack Perko, local president for Robertson Sanitation, presented the results of a study showing more than 80 percent of the county’s residents oppose any plan that results in existing haulers being forced to leave the county. The survey, was conducted in late February by international marketing and polling firm McLaughlin and Associates.

About 100 people attended the meeting, organized by County Commissioner Mike Beaudreau.