JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – After an at times heated sanitation committee meeting between county and city officials last week, a little teamwork seems to have partially resolved the problems at the Towe String Road dump site. A combination of equipment breakdowns, a wrecked garbage truck and increased volume of refuse due to the recent flooding had left the county refusing to accept any more municipal garbage due to lack of space. Related story.

The City of LaFollette loaned the county a loader (CORRECTION: The offer of a dozer was made, but ended up not being loaned) while Jacksboro Metals also chipped in and by Wednesday, Towe String can again accept trash from the municipalities. One major exception is brush, as the machinery needed to chop and mulch brush is still down, and there is no space at Towe String for more brush until the equipment is up and running.

The good news, according to Sanitation Director Bill Rutherford, is that he expects the machinery to be operable in a couple of days but until then the cities will need to hold off on bringing brush to Towe String, because the county can’t accept it. Another issue that caused a stir with city officials last week was recyclable materials.

“We are currently recycling everything – plastic, cardboard and aluminum, everything except glass – but we can’t give cities credit for their recyclable loads until they do a better job of sorting recyclables from garbage. Currently, too much non-recyclable material is mixed in, and we don’t have the manpower to go through their trash,” Rutherford pointed out.

“When our people open the bags from municipalities, they often find stuff that doesn’t belong in the recyclable bins, including rotten food, used needles and other stuff that poses a health hazard to our employees. I don’t think it’s asking too much to expect the cities and towns to properly sort their loads,” Rutherford added.

The county will continue to accept municipal trash, Rutherford said, but can’t give them credit for recyclables until they do a better job of sorting. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 04/22/2021-6AM)

Related