Gwinnett residents could face $500 fine for not recycling

While neighboring counties encourage recycling, Gwinnett County’s new solid waste management ordinance puts teeth into it. The ordinance provides for a civil fine of $500 for violations, which includes those who fail to “source separate residential recovered materials.”

Mandatory recycling is not common in metro Atlanta, but Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said the move is in line with a state policy that local governments develop plans to reduce solid waste by 25 percent.

“We want to save landfills as long as we can,” Bannister said. “Nobody wants to open up a new landfill.”

The state has tied solid waste reduction to applications for new landfills.

“We don’t intend for this to be the garbage gestapo, running around, looking in people’s garbage about what’s there and what’s not there,” said Connie Wiggins, executive director of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, which is administering Gwinnett’s waste disposal program. “I believe the fine applies to all categories, and certainly, if we saw excessive abuses of materials being thrown in the garbage.”

The big concern, Wiggins said, is mixing garbage in the recycling container.

“[It}causes contamination,” she said, “and … it ends up going to a landfill anyway.”

The City of Atlanta operates its own garbage and recycling collection system for single-family residential customers. While all are issued a bin, they are not required to recycle, said Valerie Bell-Smith, spokeswoman for the Department of Pulbic Works.

Cobb County does not administer a residential solid waste service, but it requires private haulers to offer recycling to residents, said Gwen Baldwin, public programs coordinator. The county also operates a recycling center at its waste disposal transfer station on County Services Parkway in Marietta.

DeKalb County runs a voluntary recycling program with its sanitation service. Customers pay a $30 start-up fee for containers.

“If you don’t want to do it, you’re not charged for it,” said Kristie Swink, director of communications for DeKalb County. “For ours not to be mandatory, we have well over 16,000 people participating in the program.”

Fulton County issues permits to private haulers to serve unincorporated areas. All haulers must provide recycling at least bi-weekly, said Richard Coates, assistant director of public works.

When fully implemented in July, Gwinnett’s program will provide residents 35 recycleable items, as well as appliances and furniture. There is an extra charge for yard waste.

“We’re doing our best,” Wiggins said, “to make sure that the materials being collected have a wonderful use down the road and can be repurposed and returned back to us in terms of other goods and products.”