The Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors invites residents to attend a March 7 public hearing at the courthouse in Charleston to comment on development of a proposed solid waste transfer station near that city.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
In a recent notice in The Sun-Sentinel advertising the upcoming hearing, the county stated that to operate a solid waste transfer station, officials must amend the county’s Solid Waste Management Plan — action supervisors will consider during the hearing.
A transfer station is a temporary holding facility where solid waste is stored until it can be transported to the landfill.
In the case of the local proposal, garbage trucks owned and operated by Tallahatchie County, collecting solid waste in rural areas of the county and in the village of Glendora, would haul it to the transfer station for dumping into a large receptacle, where it would be compacted and remain until the receptacle is filled and ready to be taken to the landfill in Leflore County.
Presently, the county’s garbage trucks drive straight to the landfill when full.
The proposed transfer station would be housed in a building to be constructed on county-owned land situated at 1254 Factory Dr. —described as being at Section 29, Township 25 North, Range 3 East — in the Tallahatchie County Industrial Park east of Charleston. The park is on the north side of Mississippi Highway 32. The county lot on which the facility would sit is said to comprise about 15 acres, with the transfer station site utilizing some 3 acres. It is adjacent to the Tallahatchie County Fire Training Complex. The holding station would be enclosed and the site encircled by a fence, county officials say.
Proponents of the transfer station plan say it would reduce transportation costs of fuel and lessen wear and tear on the county’s garbage trucks.
They add that instead of spending several hours each day simply hauling Tallahatchie County trash elsewhere for disposal at a landfill, a transfer station would permit those trucks and crews to devote more time to actual garbage collection.
Opponents have expressed various concerns about the upkeep of a transfer station and whether offensive odors from the accumulated waste stored there could be carried by the wind to nearby areas. Others have lamented the potential for rodent infestation and even improper public dumping near the site.
The idea of establishing a county-operated solid waste transfer station has been proposed and studied for more than two decades, with costs being a major sticking point. Within the past two years, the county has received some $240,000 in state and federal funds to help implement the plan.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality play a role in licensure and regulation of solid waste facilities.
Years ago, EPA produced a booklet of information about solid waste transfer stations: "Waste Transfer Stations: Involved Citizens Make the Difference."
