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On Wednesday, April 23, Beaufort County Government held a press conference on a proposal for two waste collection megasites in the county.

Earlier this month, Garrett and Moore gave an overview of the proposal to county commissioners at a special called meeting. Garrett and Moore is a solid waste management and engineering firm.

One megasite is planned for the northside of the county and another is planned for the southside. The northside megasite is expected to address overlap of waste collection sites on the northside of the county. There are ten waste collection sites that are operated by Beaufort county; five of them are owned by the county and most of the waste tonnage is collected at three sites – Cherry Run, River Road and Gray Road. 

The megasites are also expected to help save the county money. According to Public Works Director, Christina Smith, annual costs to operate the waste collection sites continues to increase. Public Works Deputy Director West Overman said at the press conference that annual costs rise five percent every year. 

Public Works contracts with Republic Services to dispose of the county’s solid waste. They maintain all ten collection sites and a transfer station on Flanders Filters Road, the county’s website shares. According to Overman, the county’s contract with Republic Services includes a capped five percent annual increase “tied to the CPI.” 

“A lot of our costs, especially in the past few years, have increased five percent every year because of the rate increase in the cost of service,” Overman said. 

At this time, the projected cost to construct both megasites is between $6 million and $6.5 million. Construction will be funded with money from solid waste collection fees and possible American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, Overman said at the press conference. 

Public Works has presented information about Waste Collection megasites to county commissioners since 2021. Currently, the megasite plan is in phase two, or property acquisition. The county is in a due diligence period; therefore, the exact locations of the megasites was not available. Overman did say that the northside megasite is expected to be less than 50 acres, but the southside megasite is expected to be less than 90 acres. 

Garrett and Moore anticipate the megasites to be constructed by next year.