COVINGTON, Ga. – The Newton County Solid Waste Management Authority is scheduled to decide Tuesday whether or not to ask the Board of Commissioners to authorize it to accept out-of-county trash at the county’s landfill.

The county’s current ordinance states “no solid wastes generated outside the County will be accepted at any disposal site operated by the County unless approved by a specific, affirmative act of the Commission through amendment of this ordinance or adoption of superseding regulation.” 

If approved, Tuesday’s resolution would request that the board adopt an amendment to the ordinance authorizing the SWMA to make the decision about out-of-county trash at the landfill on a case-by-case basis.

The ordinance change was one of the measures proposed by solid waste manager Kevin Walter last month to increase revenues at the landfill. Other suggestions were selling off the county’s closed convenience centers, asking the BOC for money and raising the fees to dump at the landfill.

Walter said of the change in December his goal would be to raise tonnage by 10 to 20 percent.

“Increasing the volume 10 to 20 percent would greatly help our balance sheet,” he said.

Walter had briefed the authority in November about the potential for a $1.25 million shortfall citing fewer hangtags than projected being sold and less revenue being generated from trash coming across the scales at the landfill. Also looming are interest and principle payments on bonds issued by the SWMA in 2017.

The SWMA meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Newton County Historic Courthouse.