by Paul Darst
STAFF WRITER
As part of an effort to revamp Harrison County's recycling ordinance to make it stronger, the Solid Waste Authority has invited Weston Transfer Inc., Enterprise Sanitation Inc. and Waste Management, as well as area cities that haul their own trash and selected residents, to a meeting next week to discuss the issue.
"It will be like a roundtable discussion," said Paul Hamrick, acting director of the Solid Waste Authority. "We want to get input from some county residents, from students at our middle schools and from É our haulers."
The Solid Waste Authority board of directors will conduct the meeting Dec. 8 at 11:30 a.m. at the 4-H Center on Route 19 South. The only people to take part in the roundtable will be the haulers and a few residents who have been invited to speak, Hamrick said.
The general public is invited to the meeting, but it will not have an opportunity to address the gathering.
"It's not really for the general public because we don't want it to go too long," he said. "We want to get a lot accomplished."
The authority hopes to gather suggestions about how to make the recycling ordinance enforceable, Hamrick said.
As now written, the ordinance is voluntary. There are no penalties for those who do not recycle.
Earlier this year, the Harrison County Commission agreed to have the ordinance reviewed because of a lack of participation by businesses and residents. Any ordinance drafted by the SWA will have to be approved by the commission before it is enacted.
Next week's meeting should give the authority enough suggestions to formulate an ordinance that will meet the county's recycling needs, Hamrick said.
The authority sent surveys to sixth graders in every middle school in Harrison County so their perspectives on recycling could be included, Hamrick said.
Those who would like to comment will have the opportunity to do so at a later date, Hamrick said. Once the authority revamps the ordinance based on the suggestions at the meeting, a number of public forums will be held on the issue before it goes to the commission, he said.
Staff writer Paul Darst can be reached at 626-1404 or by e-mail at pdarst@exponent-telegram.com.
