Stephens Co. Continues Progress Towards Restoring Recycling

Stephens County takes another step towards restoring recycling for county residents.

At their meeting on Tuesday, Stephens County Commissioners unanimously approved a motion to authorize staff to acquire bins to put at the landfill to serve as a single recycling location and to request the county’s Citizens’ Advisory Panel on Litter and Blight to come up with and present a long-term solution to the recycling situation for county residents.

Stephens County Administrator Phyllis Ayers said that this allows recycling to get started while the county works on the issue more.

“This would mean that you could recycle at the landfill location if you approve this, but the Citizens Advisory Panel would like to look at a more long-term solution of a complete center for recycling,” said Ayers. “This would just be something for the short term.”

Ayers went on to say that the county will take care of some of the recyclables itself, while working with the city of Toccoa on others for the time being.

“In the short term, we will keep the metal and get the money for that and (Toccoa City Manager) Billy Morse said that as long as we separate the items, we can transfer those to (the city),” said Ayers.

This all started when county commissioners voted in March that county convenience sites would no longer separate out recyclable items from household garbage at the county’s convenience sites as of April 1.

Following public comments on the matter, county commissioners then voted last month to authorize county staff to come up with a plan to present to the commission to set up a recycling drop-off site at the county landfill site on Highway 145.

Stephens County Commission Chairman Dennis Bell said that he is pleased to see progress made on re-storing recycling.

“One of the main goals I want to see on this recycling is to go ahead and get something up and running for the citizens of the county,” said Bell. “I am sure we are going to be looking at some long term things down the road and try to get a permanent recycling center, a nice one, that will be a whole lot easier for the people to use.”

There is no start date for when county recycling will start at the landfill site yet as Ayers says everything must be put in place.

Ayers did say the county will advertise that start date once it is known.