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Two mega waste collection sites are in the planning stages for Beaufort County. 

At a special called county commissioners meeting, held on April 14, Public Works Director Christina Smith, Deputy Public Works Director West Overman and Garret and Moore President Vance Moore presented a conceptual design for two mega waste collection sites – one on the northside of Beaufort County and one on the southside. 

Garrett and Moore, a solid waste management and engineering consulting firm, is assisting Public Works with the design

Annual costs to operate a solid waste collection and disposal system continue to increase, Smith told commissioners. 

Of the ten self-service solid waste collection sites in Beaufort County, five are owned by the county with most waste collected at three sites – River Road in Washington, Cherry Run in Washington and Gray Road in Chocowinity, she continued. 

All of the sites accept household waste (also known as municipal solid waste or MSW), bulky waste (furniture, mattresses, large household items), corrugated cardboard, oil collection, white goods (inoperative or discarded large household appliances), electronics, yard waste and metal (iron, steel or aluminum). 

The proposed megasites would accept all types of waste. The northside site will not collect storm debris, but the southside site will. Beaufort County contracts with Republic Services to dispose of solid waste. According to the county government’s website, Republic Services “handles approximately 14,500 tons of waste annually and employs approximately 45 employees in Beaufort County.” 

At the megasites, users would enter the collection site, drive down one lane and through a cul-de-sac then drive down an access lane. From the access lane, users will back into a specified stall (with parking spaces) for the type of waste they are leaving behind. Parking spaces would be an estimated 40 ft. to make space for vehicles and trailers. (A separate area would be designated for yard waste and storm debris.)

A barricade would be placed between the waste collection bin and users’ vehicles as a safety precaution. 

Conceptual designs for the proposed Beaufort County sites are based on designs from a megasite in Wendell, North Carolina. 

An important feature of the conceptual design, Moore said, is that service trucks will not intermingle with users’ vehicles. Service trucks will have designated entry and exit points that are separated from users. 

“One of the hardest problems that we have is interaction between those two,” Vance said, because it can be dangerous if a user is “unfamiliar with being around equipment.”

“In this situation, customers will be on one side of the wall and people who service the containers will be on the other side of the wall. They’re not intermingling especially when they are backing up to a container,” Moore said. 

The design is currently in the second phase. The county is in a due diligence period on two pieces of property intended for mega solid waste collection sites. The exact location of these mega sites was not shared during the meeting. 

In the third phase, a final design of the megasites will be presented. The project will enter a bidding process before construction begins. 

The megasites are anticipated to be constructed by next year. At this time, an estimated cost of construction has not been determined. 

The county commissioners voted unanimously to allow Garrett and Moore to proceed through the bid process. Commissioner Jerry Langley was not present; however, Chairman Frankie Waters said Langley supported the proposal. The commissioners are expected to vote on the proposed megasites in the future when construction costs are determined.

The Daily News sent questions to Public Works Director Christina Smith, but they were not answered by press time. Any information Smith provides after press time will be included in an updated version of this article on our website, www.thewashingtondailynews.com. 

*Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this article stated the construction of the proposed mega sites would consolidate ten sites located throughout the county. County Manager Brian Alligood said the “total consolidation” is not correct. “There has been some discussion with the Board about looking at the multiple collection sites and seeing if some efficiencies can be achieved by determining if areas that have overlap can be reduced, but a consolidation of all sites into the 2 mega sites is not being considered,” Alligood said.