Cobb turns trash pick-up over to private firm

ADS plans to tear down the county’s large trash transfer facility on County Services Parkway, soon after it moves in on Sept. 5.

The company will build a new $1.7 million trash transfer station to replace the county’s 1970s-era building. At the end of the contract, the county will own the new building.

Down the street, ADS will remodel the county’s composting facility, where for the past decade the county has churned household waste into compost.

ADS will no longer do that.

Instead the company will accept paper, cardboard and other recyclables from trash haulers and citizens.

ADS will pay the county $5,000 per month to lease the composting facility and share some of the revenue from recycling, said Judy Skeel, Cobb’s acting solid waste manager and assistant to the county manager.

Trash haulers and citizens will continue to bring their garbage to the trash transfer station down the street, near the jail.

ADS will load household garbage onto trucks and transport it to the company’s Eagle Point Landfill in Forsyth County.

Residents must pay $7 to dump up to 400 pounds of garbage, the same price as now, Skeel said.

Cobb will earn 25 cents per ton for haulers who dump up to 275 tons in one day. The fee increases to $1 per ton for haulers who dump more than 600 tons per day.

About 55 county workers will be affected by the change. Many will find jobs in other county departments.

“We opened up frozen positions to solid waste employees only,” Skeel said.

A number of solid waste workers will transfer to the county’s water, transportation or parks departments, Skeel said. A few will work for Advanced Disposal Services.

About a dozen workers still need placement, she said. Skeel could not say if there would be layoffs.