Last week, county commissioners reportedly tendered an offer to City Council to bring residents of unincorporated areas of Baldwin County into the county’s curbside garbage contract.
As stated in a letter to the city, this move would provide the same services to city residents that are currently provided in the unincorporated area at a lower cost to the city residents, and at the same time provide them a higher level of service with the use of the convenience centers, the letter states.
Since city residents currently pay a bit more for their services as compared to Baldwin residents for curbside service without access to the convenience centers, this is a win-win that would benefit everyone — namely local taxpayers and the environment.
City and county officials have been in talks and negotiations on this issue for the past couple of weeks, and it’s time to get the ball rolling and get a compromise plan in action.
Said Mayor Bentley recently: “We want to be able to move forward [on a proposal] as soon as possible. This is not something anyone wants to wait an extended amount of time on.”
We think it’s time, and local officials need to work to get the issue resolved and get a plan put together that will benefit all of the residents of the city and county.
Last year, Milledgeville launched a local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, which aims to promote in part environmental responsibility and stewardship among communities and combat the spread of litter. We all watched and read about the award-winning group of environmentally-conscious middle-schoolers from Oak Hill as they showed initiative and got in on the act helping to spread the word about recycling and reusing. This same community that can produce these types of successful environmental efforts can surely develop an agreement on solid waste and recycling in this same spirit of thinking.
Resolving this issue and developing a compromise that benefits city and county residents in the long-run will also be a win for Keep America Beautiful and for the local environment as greater access to recycling capabilities will be more convenient and less taxing. Already there has been much confusion regarding when, and where, and if at all, residents can take their recyclables. Adopting a resolution on this issue is sorely needed to help stave off the confusion. The recyclables in many city residents’ homes are mounting, which is why we call on city and county leaders to not only continue dialogue but come up with a compromise on this issue — sooner rather than later.
