FILE
To the editor: I never thought too much about recycling until I read in the paper that the Habersham County Landfill will reach capacity much sooner than expected, possibly in two years. Since then, I have been checking everything that I use to see if it is recyclable. To my amazement, there is not much left that should go to the landfill. I have made one trip to the Cornelia recycling place and the lady attendant was super nice and helpful.
I remember one commissioner saying “Folks, growth is coming our way. We need housing and jobs to come to Habersham County.” Well, folks, growth is here and now we are in a pickle. The commissioners were forewarned about the landfill and did not heed this warning. A commissioner stated in the paper that “We need to come up with something quickly,” “It would take 8-10 years to open a new site,” and “No funding has been set aside to build a new landfill.”
He stated some solutions would be to try to get more people to recycle since it was stated that only two percent of Habersham residents recycle. They also suggested talking with School Superintendent Matthew Cooper (noting that the schools are the landfill’s biggest customer) to recycle along with our industries and commercial customers.
Habersham C&D was approved by the commissioners for a conditional use permit to take construction debris and other waste into its facility and grind it up for more efficient disposal. The cost for this specialized chipper was not published in the paper.
I urge all residents to step up to the plate and prove that recycling will make a difference. Commissioners should do their job and promote recycling 100 percent instead of two percent.
Doris Jones
Cornelia