The landfill increasing its room and Sparta conducting test runs, but still no official deal on transporting trash between Sparta and Waste Management.
Sparta Mayor Jerry Lowery said Waste Management has been working on a new landfill cell and just recently received their permit. Meantime, the Sanitation Department has begun its own set of tests.
“We’re loading it up and driving it to the landfill versus loading it in a truck and taking it somewhere else,” Lowery said. “And it’s creating more traffic, it’s creating more travel time for our drivers, so we are trying to see right now, kind of in a trial run, to see if it will work, or do we need to continue taking it to Morristown or other options.”
White County sold the landfill to Waste Management over a year ago, but the transaction did not honor Sparta’s partnership with the county to access the landfill. Lowery said no one is at fault for the lack of a deal with Waste Management.
“There’s no one to say there is any blame or any fault anywhere,” Lowery said. “It’s just a matter of fact that they had some work that they had to do down there before they could get approved to take trash and open up a new cell, and they have just literally, within the last couple of weeks, made that happen.”
Lowery said the city will have more negotiation meetings with Waste Management in the near future. Lowery said he is unsure if the end is in sight.
“We are looking at all those numbers and the data, and the cost, and then we are gonna make the best decision,” Lowery said. “Get the best bang for our buck if you will, for the residents of Sparta.”
