County explores using WastAway as garbage option

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Wade Sparkman of WastAway shows Health and Welfare Committee members a sample of their product as Commissioner David Vandagriff looks on. (Charles W. Johnson photo)

County government officials are currently discussing a waste disposal deal with WastAway, a local company that has developed a process to convert household garbage into a material suitable for a wide range of uses including building materials, insulation and even garden mulch.

Currently the county’s garbage is collected at 13 convenience centers located around the county. It’s then collected by truck and hauled to BFI, a waste disposal company in Murfreesboro.

Director of Accounts Linda Hillis and Director of Sanitation Steve Hillis were on hand during the Health and Welfare Committee meeting Thursday to provide information as to how the cost of the proposed process would compare with the current method.

The contract offered by WastAway, a subsidiary of Bouldin & Lawson, would charge $40 per ton to dispose of the county’s household solid waste. According to figures prepared by Hillis, the county is paying $40.54 per ton when the various expenses, wages, fuel, repairs to vehicles, depreciation, tires and lubricants, are factored in. Hillis also said BFI has sent a letter notifying the county of an increase which will add another 23 cents to the current cost, taking the total up to $40.77 per ton.

Hillis noted the real savings would be in the long run, taking into account the “soft savings” of wages, vehicle purchases and maintenance. Committee Chairman Wayne Pryor added supporting a local business should be an important part of the decision as well.

“Even if there wasn’t any savings,” Pryor said, “even if we just came out even, Bouldin & Lawson are local people and they have developed this system where they can recycle garbage and come out with a usable product. So anytime we can support a local entity like this, I think it would behoove us to do it.”

The business will also provide over 100 jobs in the county at startup, and 250 within three years according to Wade Sparkman, vice president of sales for WastAway.

Commissioner Bobby Cox inquired as the how the marketing for the end product was progressing.

“It’s going wild,” said Sparkman, “TVA is testing this for a lot of different applications. The Corps of Engineers is looking at it.”

County Executive Carol Hamblen is excited about the potential for recycling and the environmentally friendly aspects of the process.

“Can you imagine being the only county in these United States to be certified as having 95 percent of their solid waste being recycled,” said Hamblen.

“And the state has already authorized us to do that,” Sparkman added.

“It’s going to put us on the map,” continued Hamblen, “We’re going to be the place everybody’s going to come to, to see what we’re doing right.”

After further discussion, Pryor called for a motion to prepare a resolution on the WastAway contract to be presented to the full commission. The motion passed unanimously.