A report on the county’s recycling, presented by Recycling Coordinator Ulanda Green to Williamsburg County Council February 1, may have raised more questions than it answered. Green’s synopsis included the need for containers, a baler and the funding process that facilitates recycling programs. Grants applied for through the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control comprised waste oil, waste tires and solid waste.
A grant in the amount of $16,150 will facilitate in recycling used oil and bottles for five recycling sites. Green said that program is being implemented and drums for the oil will be provided.  In addition, a waste tire grant, along with county support has enabled the transport of tires to US Tire, a facility located in North Carolina but according to Green the county does not receive compensation from US Tire but must pick up a portion of the tab to have the tires disposed of. She added that some grant funding allows for reimbursement of a portion of the payment.
Green said for the past several years the county has been recycling scrap metal, white goods, and cardboard, which in 2009 generated $33,514 in revenue with the majority of that revenue obtained from the sell of scrap metal. Councilmember Franklin Fulmore said more could be done toward generating higher revenues. “We should be able to up that amount,” said Fulmore of the $33,000. “Even the landfill takes scrap metal and sells it and I think we’re out of our minds if we don’t double or triple that.”
Green recommended reinstating plastic and newspaper recycling which will require the purchase of containers, components that were once furnished at the sites. Green said when the county was under a former system, containers that stored plastics among other recyclables had to be emptied by a front-end loader but when the county switched to a new system the containers were disposed of.
In addition, several years ago a vertical baler that was used to compact newspaper and plastic was destroyed by fire, therefore the material has been deposited in open containers where it deteriorates and ends up in the landfill. At one time Sunoco leased a baler to the county for a dollar per year, said Green. She said she is working with Sunoco representative Will Smith to possibly reinstate the agreement.  “Once we get that lined up and get the containers going and get the grants, we can start facilitating and making the information understandable to the citizens,” she said. “Then as the need kicks up on more recycling we would need more personnel.”
Councilman Sam Drucker has voiced his concerns at pervious council meetings and the report only solidified his opinion that the issue should be a priority. “Just the basics of recycling need to be put on the front burner of things we need to take care of,” he said.
In a later interview Drucker said there is a possibility that in the near future the county may be paying to haul its trash and recyclables shouldn’t be a part of that scenario. “Recycling glass, plastics and newspapers is so basic that it is unbelievable we are not doing it.” After Green’s report, Pasley proposed council meet on a periodic basis and work towards developing a strategic plan to address the recycling concerns.