Santa Rosa County Commission talks trash
Commissioners discuss reducing number of garbage services
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News Waste Management is one of nine residential trash services working in Santa Rosa County and one of four to six companies operating in Southern Santa Rosa County.

Santa Rosa County Commissioners would like to see less trash and more community involvement in 2007. At their committee meeting Jan. 22 commissioners discussed a handful of initiatives designed to improve the quality of life for Santa Rosans and streamline refuse services. Most importantly, commissioners discussed a request for proposals (RFP) to consolidate curbside waste pickup services in Southern Santa Rosa County. A quick trip through many Southern Santa Rosa County neighborhoods on trash day reveals patchwork system of trash pickup, visually noted by the garbage containers of various colors, shapes and sizes that belong to multiple providers.

"There's at least four companies in my neighborhood, and many other neighborhoods, going through there everyday of the week except on Sunday," said Commissioner Gordon Goodin of Navarre. "[The garbage trucks are] pulling over to the edge of the road where's there's not [curbing] to protect it and they're crumbling the edges of our roads and destroying the shoulders of our road, creating extra work for our road department. I think having one sole provider will reduce the wear and tear on those roads. It will also help us identify who the source of the litter is, that's blowing off these trucks."

County Engineer Roger Blaylock said there are nine different companies providing county residents with residential trash pickup.

As part of the RFP, Goodin said he would like to see language that requires bidders to:

Provide large item pickup at curbside

Collect recyclable materials at curbside

Build a transfer station in Southern Santa Rosa County

Conduct billing services for residential customers

Goodin said that neighboring Okaloosa County shifted to a sole trash pickup provider 10 years ago and were able to reduce their residential pickup rates.

"We have people who lived in the Navarre area who have moved across the county line that are paying less for household garbage pickup now including curbside recycling and including large item pickup," Goodin said. "They're paying less now than they did when they lived in Santa Rosa County"

Commissioner John Broxson said he'd like to see a system that is similar to what exists within the city limits of Gulf Breeze. Steve Milford with Gulf Breeze City Hall said many city utilities are streamlined into one invoice including water, gas, sewer and trash services. The city also provides curbside recyclable material pickup.

However, not all residents like the idea of monopolizing the county's residential trash service.

"I think competition is good," said Tiger Point resident Ken Robinson. The independent insurance adjuster said he originally signed up for one trash service, but quickly changed to another when the first provider did not respond fast enough. "If there's someone else with a better service and a better price I'd like to have that choice, rather than a government entity dictating to me which service to use. I'm for smaller government and less government in my day to day life."

Commissioners also discussed sponsoring Spring Cleaning 2007, a volunteer initiative that includes the Great American Cleanup on April 22 and Amnesty Day March 24.

Rodney Sutton with Santa Rosa Clean Community System, which he said is a local chapter of Keep America Beautiful, explained that the April 22 event would be a county wide volunteer clean up effort. He said The Gulf Breeze High School parking lot normally serves as a local deposit point and last year 57 volunteers were able to collect 15 cubic yards of trash at that location. Sutton said close to 700 volunteers collected over 100 cubic yards of trash county wide in 2006.

Sutton also said Amnesty Day is an opportunity for citizens to dispose of household hazardous materials such as paint, chemicals, batteries and propane tanks.

In an ongoing effort to control alleged derelict landfills in Santa Rosa County, commissioners extended their moratorium of construction and demolition landfill permits for another six months. County staff is working to correct pollution concerns at Joiner landfill in Milton and are developing a tougher list of regulations for all landfills in the county.