Choice for trash service resonating in Gwinnett

By PATRICK FOX

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

As Gwinnett officials craft a new solid waste plan for 180,000 unincorporated households, the cry for freedom of choice in trash service may be gaining momentum.

More than 60 residents turned out Saturday for the last of eight community forums on the subject. Nearly all the 17 residents who rose to comment spoke in favor of private choice.

“It’s not government’s business to tell me who I can do business with,” said Jeff Reisman of Suwanee.

His remarks, and other comments pushing free choice of haulers, drew rousing applause from the crowd at George Pierce Community Center in Suwanee.

The forums are part of a study being conducted by the Seattle-based consulting firm R.W. Beck to gauge public attitudes toward garbage service. The firm, hired by the county in April to draw up recommendations, is also conducting phone and Internet polling and surveying other plans in similar jurisdictions.

Prompted by a state mandate, Gwinnett County officials undertook a plan last year to strengthen their commitment to reduce solid waste by 25 percent from 1992 levels. But the county’s plan, which required recycling and assigned exclusive franchises to two haulers, was stopped in Superior Court last December.

The county has since reverted to its old system of allowing residents to choose any of the nine residential waste haulers licensed to operate in Gwinnett. There is also no requirement that each household have garbage service, a condition some county officials argue encourages litter and illegal dumping.

At a series of earlier public forums conducted by a citizens panel, a sizable contingent spoke out in favor of exclusive franchise zones to limit the number of garbage trucks driving through neighborhoods.

The county will hold at least one public hearing on the waste plan before an ordinance is passed, said Chuck Huckleberry, Gwinnett County deputy finance director. No date has been set.