News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
White County Commission Chair Robert McCormick said a buildup of dirt is the reason why residential trash is being diverted away from the county landfill.
McCormick said before the current commission, the correct practices were not followed.
McCormick said this has caused the moisture of the garbage to not drain properly. McCormick said the dirt has caused blockages. It also causes horizontal leaks out of the landfill cell instead of draining to the bottom.
“Dirt that is supposed to cover a landfill every evening has to be scrapped off every morning,” McCormick said. “Over the years, we’re not sure if someone maybe didn’t scrap it off, put trash back on it or didn’t scrap the trash off. We don’t know what happened, but it ended up filling the landfill with a quite a bit of dirt.”
McCormick said Interim Solid Waste Director Bruce Null is leading the clean up effort. McCormick said the department has been working with TDEC closely to ensure the correct procedures are taking place.
“You have to go in with equipment and cleanup it up so it can naturally drain,” McCormick said. “We feel confident that maybe it will be solved here fairly soon, so we can get back on track.”
In the mean time, the county will continue to deliver its trash to Morrison.
