CHICKAMAUGA — More people staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic means more people in rural communities visiting the local landfill. Walker County officials are asking residents to limit their trips to the landfill and only come to the landfill when they have essential household waste to throw away.
According to county officials, an influx of customers at the Landfill has strained efforts to provide an essential service while protecting the health and safety of customers and employees.
“If you could hold off on cleaning out that shed or garage, I understand people are at home and they want to stay active and this is a perfect opportunity to catch up on these old projects, but if you can limit the waste stream to just essential household waste, we would appreciate that,” said Landfill Manager Paine Gily.
In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the county is asking residents to limit non-essential outings and observe the following guidelines:
- Construction and demolition material, such as wood, drywall or bricks, should never be mixed with municipal solid waste, also referred to as MSW. The landfill is only accepting MSW from residents at this time and reserves the right to refuse any mixed loads.
- Accumulate several bags of waste to limit trips. This will help reduce the number of customers gathered at the landfill at any given time.
- If you need tools, like a rake, bring your own to avoid contact with high touch surfaces.
- All loose garbage should be bagged to limit potential exposure for landfill employees or other customers. State regulations require windblown material to be picked up.
“We’re seeing a large volume of people concentrated in a small area. Our transfer station is only large enough to accomodate a certain amount of people,” Gily said. “When we get more than enough people in there at one time, that just opens up the possibility for something to spread.”
County officials are also reminding residents that the landfill is not their only option for discarding waste. There are nearly a dozen curbside services that are licensed to operate in Walker County. You can find a complete list of private companies that provide household garbage service on the county’s website under the landfill page.
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