Trash is piling up at Beaufort County convenience centers and it’s happening at a quicker rate due to non-Beaufort County residents using the centers.

“We are currently reviewing options to ensure Beaufort County residents are the only ones using the centers because they are the ones paying for the service. If more of these non-county residents continue to use the centers, it’s going to raise taxes for the Beaufort County residents,” said Beaufort County Administrator Gary Kubic.

It currently costs the county $65,000 a month to transport trash and an additional $42 per ton to dispose of the waste at the Hickory Hill landfill in Jasper County. “We as a county will always have to pay another entity to dispose of our waste because Beaufort County does not have its own landfill, and you can bet it’s going to cost more tomorrow than it does today,” Solid Waste and Recycling Director Jim Minor said.

To help alleviate this problem, Kubic has assigned county staff to review a proposal of using a windshield decal, for a nominal fee, identifying all Beaufort county business owners and residents. This decal will be necessary for a person to enter and use any convenient center in Beaufort County.

Beaufort County provides 11 convenience centers located throughout the county where Beaufort County residents can drop off their household solid waste and yard waste. Residential construction and demolition debris is accepted in small amounts at three centers (Shanklin, St. Helena, Bluffton). Seven of the convenience centers accept recycling materials. For more information about Beaufort County’s Solid Waste and Recycling, go to http://www.bcgov.net/recycle.