Forsyth County to vote to restore recycling to all unincorporated areas
Minor Barnette, Forsyth County enviromental director
Forsyth County commissioners plan to vote on a contract on May 24 that’ll at last give all unincorporated areas access to curbside recycling next year.
Unincorporated parts of the county lost curbside recycling subscription service in 2017 when a second service provider didn’t renew its contract after losing money on providing just that service. After explorer several solutions, the county was able to restore recycling service to some areas when two companies that provide garbage collection services in those areas, ABC Garbage and Rural Garbage Service, agreed to add recycling collection in exchange for a three-year extension to their contracts.
That left almost half the unincorporated areas that receive garbage pickup service from Waste Management without recycling service. With that company’s contract running out at the end of this year, the county reviewed proposals for providing garbage and recycling services to the areas it serves. Staff came back with recommendations for:
*ABC to provide service to northern areas of the county adjacent to its current service areas
*North Davidson Garbage Service to provide service in a couple areas in the southern part of the county that border Davidson County
*Rural Garbage to provide service to areas in the northern part of the county adjacent to its current areas.
The proposed rate for recycling service is $6 for North Davidson and $7 for ABC and Rural Garbage.
If approved, the three-year contract will start Jan. 1, which is also when the optional recycling service would begin.
During a briefing on the matter last month, Minor Barnette, director of Forsyth’s Environmental Assistance and Protection Office, said residents are excited to see the service return.
“Of the citizens that have called me who don’t have recycling collection service, when I tell them its going to be available Jan. 1, they’re not complaining about the delay, they’re cheering for the success and expressing their gratitude that we kept working on this until we made it possible,” said Barnette.
County Commissioner Vice Chairman Don Martin said he was pleased to see the service restored.
“This has been kind of a long journey,” said Martin. “Minor and his staff have done a great job. Something we thought we were not going to be able to accomplish has been accomplished, which is great.”
