EDITORIAL: Time to deal with a decades old problem

There are sure to be some noses out of joint when the full impact of the proposal to raise garbage fees to $20 a month countywide hits residents. The measure was approved by the Operations and Finance Committee 3-1 on Tuesday and will be heard by the full Macon-Bibb County Commission next week.

The dismay is understandable. Trash is a difficult subject to talk about. For former city residents it's a 25 percent increase; for former unincorporated county residents it hits a bit harder — 36.25 percent. It won't matter to local taxpayers that the $20 garbage fee is the same as Forsyth and Perry or $7.16 lower than Augusta-Richmond County. They will just see their rates going up and won't care about the rhyme or reason.

And the reason, while pretty simple, will be difficult to sell. It's all an effort to recycle more and put less trash in our soon-to-be closed landfill. Solid Waste Director Kevin Barkley has a chore on his hands. The recycling efforts countywide and particularly within the former city limits have been less than stellar over the past three decades. Educating the public about the benefits of recycling will be a key ingredient to any successful effort.

Closing the landfill is a big ticket item, running about $10 million, and while there is hope the landfill can last a little bit longer than 2020 by diverting the amount of trash going into it, the handwriting is on the wall and has been for some time. But there is a bright side. Houston County's garbage fee is $6.55 lower than the proposed Macon-Bibb fee because its fee is offset by the sale of methane gas from its landfill, something we will be able to do, too.

No matter how distasteful, it's time to work the plan on the table, adjust as necessary and not kick this can into the landfill of time anymore.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 10:02 PM with the headline "EDITORIAL: Time to deal with a decades old problem ."