Community Waste Solutions is the only trash disposal business in Haines. (Emily Files)
The Haines Borough is considering moving toward a publicly-funded system of solid waste management.
At a meeting Tuesday, the Haines Assembly heard a presentation on possible ways forward, to improve waste disposal.
“Our issues right now are about public health and safety,” said Haines Borough Manager Debra Schnabel. “Public health and safety is a primary concern of our government. It’s important that all municipal solid waste, hazardous waste all be dealt with in a safe manner that protects the environment and protects human health.”
Right now, residents have one option for garbage disposal, the privately-owned Community Waste Solutions. There’s one other option for recycling, the non-profit Haines Friends of Recycling.
In the last few years, a solid waste working group set out to try to figure out if there’s a better way to deal with solid waste. Now, borough staff are working to combine that group’s recommendations with current waste disposal options.
Sally Garton is with Community Waste Solutions. She said the company wants to work with the borough.
“We’re going to go ahead with our plans no matter what happens,” said Garton. “We’re still looking at the transfer station ourselves, which would include a recycling center. Our ideal scenario would be to work with the borough, and work with Haines Friends of Recycling. That everybody works together.”
Earlier this month, borough staff inspected the landfill and brought several concerns to the assembly.
CWS has been working towards improving the facility, making renovations, covering the landfill, and investing in new equipment, among other things.
Schnabel asked the assembly to direct staff to continue developing an ordinance to create a publically-funded solid waste program.
“Because there’s a price tag on it, we don’t get 100 percent participation,” said Schnabel. “There are some people who will not pay. There are some people who cannot pay. And there are some people that are just unaware. We believe that, and this is the basis of the solid waste working group’s recommendation, is that we go to a publicly-funded system.”
Garton said she’s generally supportive of that idea.
“In order to ensure operational sustainability, CWS must have taxed-base community participation, and/or supplement by processing waste material from neighboring communities,” said Garton.
Assemblyman Sean Maidy said a publically-funded program could help create better disposal practices.
“When people don’t think you’re looking, they try to get away with all sorts of stuff,” said Maidy. “Without the community having an actual buy-in to the process, we’re letting them do whatever they want without us looking. I’ve said it a billion times. People should be able to do whatever they want to do, as long as it doesn’t negatively affect how others do whatever they want to do.”
What a publicly-funded system would look like is still undecided. One possibility would be an increase in sales tax. Local business owner Doug Olerud said that would hurt businesses.
“If you add an extra 1 percent to our cost, it makes us that much harder to compete with the prices online, which we already are struggling to compete with now,” said Olerud.
The assembly voted 5-1, directing staff to continue work on the ordinance. It will come back to the assembly on July 24.
