Solid waste director: new compactor operational; training, dust-mitigation pilot and load-cover outreach planned

Greg Hillam, who was introduced at the meeting as the county’s solid waste director, gave an operational update on the transfer station and related solid-waste programs.

Hillam said one compactor unit is already operational and the other is completing final work. SSI, the equipment manufacturer, is conducting operator training on Friday morning; Hillam said the transfer station will be closed for about an hour during that training and staff will notify commercial haulers and the public. "We will be closing the transfer station for about an hour," Hillam said, noting the closure would be timed to minimize commercial impact.

Hillam also described several operational adjustments the manufacturer recommends — including running the compactor more on remote/automatic mode to reduce maintenance — and said staff are retraining operators to mitigate wear. He described a dust-control pilot: county crews will test a water-misting machine from a vendor for roughly 30 days this summer to assess whether it reduces dust near tipping areas.

On litter enforcement, Hillam said staff have begun handing out educational notices about the county ordinance requiring covered loads and that a $10 fee currently exists for uncovered loads; for now the approach is educational but enforcement and fines could be considered if compliance does not improve.

Why it matters: The equipment training, operational changes and pilot testing affect daily transfer-station access and could change how staff manage dust and site safety. The outreach on uncovered loads signals a move toward stronger compliance or enforcement if education proves insufficient.

Provenance: Transfer-station and compactor remarks were made during the public-works segment of the meeting, where Hillam provided operational detail and described the planned manufacturer training and pilot testing.