Solid Waste Committee · Meeting · Aug 3, 2026 · 5:00 PM

Mon, Aug 3, 2026

Guides landfill operations, recycling, convenience centers, and collection policies for household and commercial waste across the county.

Outline

This outline was generated by an LLM from a transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. Prefer the original recording when available.

The committee granted a resident’s request to waive a $103 one-time solid waste charge after hearing that the bill had been mailed to an old tax-record address and the resident had already paid the underlying $90 and $110 amounts once the issue was discovered. The committee also approved proceeding with a Caterpillar undercarriage for the landfill trackhoe, favoring the higher-priced option because it included a 3,000-hour warranty and the machine has nearly 9,760 hours.

Financial and operational discussion focused on heavy equipment repairs, strong early-year collections, landfill tonnage, recycling and metals revenue, Perry County’s continued use of Hickman County’s transfer service at $66.70 per ton, exemption/write-off mechanics for vacant and low-income properties, compactor refurbishment to stop leaks at convenience centers, and plans to prepare a business billing list for rollout in January.

Approval of Agenda and Minutes

  • The committee approved the agenda/checks without recorded controversy.
  • The committee approved prior meeting minutes without recorded controversy.

Public Comments

Resident request to waive solid waste charge

  • A resident addressed the committee about a vacant property on Laws Branch that later became her home. She said she did not realize she was supposed to receive a solid waste bill and learned the bill had been sent to her former Doyle address listed in tax records.
  • She said she had already paid the underlying $90 and $110 charges and asked that the additional $103 one-time amount be waived because she never received the original bill or follow-up notice.
  • A motion was made and seconded to waive the charge.
  • The committee approved the waiver by roll-call vote, with all members heard voting yes.
  • During discussion, staff clarified that the county had mailed the bill to the address shown on the tax record, so the problem was not described as a county mailing failure but as an address-record issue.

Department / Official Reports

Finance report

  • The finance report highlighted pressure in budget line 336 for maintenance and repair services for equipment.
  • The landfill had already spent more than $20,000 from that line, driven largely by three major repair purchase orders for the trackhoe, including radiator damage and labor required to remove the counterweight for repair work.
  • Even with that work coming in under budget, the committee was told the line was already about 39% used early in the fiscal year.
  • Revenue was described as generally on track, with one reporting lag: credit card payments are processed through BIS, deposited into a separate checking account, and transferred to the trustee only monthly.
  • Because that transfer had not yet occurred in the new fiscal year, budget line 43106 appeared artificially low at 2.32%, even though card collections had been made.
  • Staff said the county had actually collected 21.5% of the budgeted solid waste disposal fee so far.
  • Monthly totals presented: about $145,000 spent and $311,666.73 collected.
  • The committee accepted the finance report without recorded opposition.

Operations and tonnage report

  • The department reported moving 2,002 tons of material during the month.
  • Of that total, 1,448 tons were Class I waste shipped to Camden and 413 tons were buried in Hickman County.
  • Recycling/diversion details included 86 tons of cardboard, 29 tons of ferrous metal, and 4.78 tons of non-ferrous metal such as copper, brass, aluminum, and stainless steel.
  • Staff said trustees working at the landfill have been sorting and upgrading some metals instead of selling all mixed scrap at low steel prices.
  • The county diverted 27% of waste from the Camden Class I landfill and sold about 7% of the material handled that month.
  • Convenience center traffic was described as following recent trends, with the busiest sites still Four-Way, Shady Grove, and Pinewood; staff noted Pinewood appears to be closing the gap with Shady Grove.

Scheduling of next meeting

  • The committee discussed whether the next meeting should occur on the usual first Monday in September, which falls on Labor Day.
  • Discussion centered on the election-year calendar, the nominating committee, and whether newly elected members would affect the September schedule.
  • No final fixed date was set during this exchange; the committee indicated it would likely sort out the calendar after county court/commission discussions later in the month.

Perry County waste contract and tipping-fee implications

  • Staff reported that Perry County is still bringing trash to Hickman County.
  • Hickman County is charging Perry County $66.70 per ton for the service.
  • Staff said Perry County had previously indicated it intended to move on and bid the work out, and that a trucking bid had been obtained while Perry County worked with Waste Management on logistics.
  • The apparent obstacle is equipment/layout: Perry County uses a compactor, while Hickman County uses a retaining wall and pushes trash into a trailer, so operational details still need to be worked out.
  • Staff said he could not imagine Perry County continuing long-term at $66.70 per ton, especially since Hickman County is paying about $52 to have its own waste shipped out.
  • The committee was told that if Perry County unexpectedly remained at the current rate, that outside revenue could help justify lowering Hickman County’s own tipping fee in a future year.
  • No action was taken on the Perry County arrangement at this meeting.

Equipment repairs, compactor restoration, and trackhoe undercarriage approval

  • Staff said the department had a difficult month on equipment, with multiple small breakdowns and one major issue requiring Caterpillar to come out three times.
  • The trackhoe was down for about a week.
  • To avoid renting equipment, the department borrowed stored equipment from the sheriff’s side, which allowed operations to continue temporarily.
  • Staff noted that transfer trailer density dropped by about 30% during this workaround, which was manageable short-term but not sustainable because it affects hauling economics.
  • The department also returned two idle machines to service: a backhoe and a forklift transferred from EMA.
  • On convenience-center infrastructure, staff said leaking compactors have been creating a mess, especially at East.
  • Rather than buying new units, the department is rebuilding three compactors by installing new floor steel, painting them, and resealing rear doors to stop wastewater leaks.
  • One compactor is finished, one is in progress, and a third is expected to be completed during the month.
  • Staff said each rebuild costs less than 10% of the price of a new compactor and should produce a visible improvement at the sites.

Trackhoe undercarriage purchase

  • The committee reviewed three quotes for the trackhoe undercarriage: two aftermarket options and one Caterpillar option.
  • Staff explained that the undercarriage includes the tracks and the rollers/components the machine rides on, and that wear is expected over time.
  • The recommendation was to choose Caterpillar because it offered a 3,000-hour warranty, even though it cost about $4,000 more than the aftermarket bids.
  • A committee member asked about hours on the machine; staff reported about 9,760 hours.
  • The budget had anticipated $20,000 for the trackhoe undercarriage and another $20,000 for the track loader undercarriage, both within a $90,000 maintenance-and-repair budget line.
  • Staff said the track loader’s undercarriage was installed about five years ago and currently measures about 70% to 85% worn, so that replacement is expected later, likely in the spring.
  • Staff also noted that the extra revenue from Perry County for the month essentially covered the difference on the selected undercarriage option.
  • A motion was made and seconded to proceed with the Caterpillar undercarriage.
  • The motion passed by roll-call vote, with all members heard voting yes.

Billing, collections, exemptions, and business list

  • Staff reported that 25.86% of this year’s bills had been resolved.
  • He explained the difference between that figure and the 21.5% revenue collection figure by noting that exemptions reduce billed amounts without appearing as revenue.
  • Negative adjustments/exemptions totaled $47,905, primarily for vacant homes and low-income/fixed-income residents.
  • Exemptions were said to equal about 3.71% of the total volume of invoices.
  • Combining revenue collections and exemptions, staff said about 25.25% of billed volume had effectively been resolved.
  • The committee also asked about a list of businesses to be billed for solid waste service.
  • Staff said that list is complete and the plan is to start billing those businesses in January.
  • He suggested bringing the list to the committee beforehand so members could contact affected businesses before they receive unexpected bills, possibly at the October or November meeting for the benefit of new commissioners.

Recycling markets and trustee labor

  • Staff reported sales of $4,792 in copper, brass, aluminum, and circuit boards.
  • He said these materials would otherwise have been sold as mixed scrap for about 6 cents per pound, so the upgraded sorting creates additional value.
  • After subtracting what the county would have received from ordinary scrap sales, the net gain was described as closer to $3,100.
  • Trustees put about 80 hours into the sorting work during the month, roughly 2 to 3 hours per day on workdays.
  • Staff estimated the upgraded sorting generated about $35 per hour in added value.
  • He also said the program is operationally flexible: if trustee labor is unavailable, the county can stop sorting and simply ship the material as regular scrap without creating a storage crisis, unlike cardboard when the baler is down.
  • Plastic markets remain difficult. Staff said brokers do not currently want the county’s plastic bottles, though they strongly want jugs/buckets and have been calling repeatedly about those loads.
  • Staff is trying to negotiate mixed loads, such as 25 bales of bottles with 25 bales of buckets, to move bottle inventory that is otherwise hard to sell.
  • Committee sentiment was that even discounted or free movement of bottles would be better than landfilling them.
  • Staff said he would attend a conference on the 19th and hoped those market contacts could help resolve the plastics issue.

Convenience center signage

  • A committee member said he had visited a convenience center and saw a new sign stating the due date on the bill.
  • Members reacted positively and said the sign should help reduce late payments and people falling behind.

Adjournment

  • The meeting concluded after final comments on signage and operations.

Key figures and statistics

Figure Type Context / topic
$302 Bill total Resident’s total solid waste bill discussed in waiver request
$90 Payment Amount resident said she had paid
$110 Payment Additional amount resident said she had paid
$103 Fee / waiver One-time charge waived by committee
336 Budget line Maintenance and repair services for equipment
3 Purchase orders Major repair purchase orders for the trackhoe
$20,000 Expense to date Amount already spent from equipment-repair line
39% Budget usage Portion of repair budget line already used
43106 Revenue line Solid waste disposal fee line affected by credit-card transfer timing
2.32% Reported revenue status Apparent percentage on card-related budget line before transfer
21.5% Collections rate Share of budgeted solid waste disposal fee collected so far
$145,000 Monthly spending Approximate amount spent this month
$311,666.73 Monthly collections Amount collected this month
2,002 tons Tonnage Total material moved during the month
1,448 tons Tonnage Class I waste shipped to Camden
413 tons Tonnage Waste buried in Hickman County
86 tons Tonnage Cardboard handled
29 tons Tonnage Ferrous metal handled
4.78 tons Tonnage Non-ferrous metal handled
27% Diversion rate Waste diverted from the Camden Class I landfill
7% Sales share Share of handled material sold
$66.70 per ton Rate What Perry County is paying Hickman County
$52 per ton Cost Approximate shipping/disposal cost Hickman County pays for its own waste
3 times Service calls Caterpillar callouts during equipment trouble
1 week Downtime Trackhoe downtime
30% Density change Drop in transfer trailer weights/density during workaround
3 Compactors Number of compactors being restored
less than 10% Cost comparison Rebuild cost relative to buying a new compactor
3 Quotes Number of undercarriage quotes received
3,000 hours Warranty Caterpillar undercarriage warranty
$4,000 Price difference Extra cost of Caterpillar option over aftermarket
9,760 hours Equipment usage Hours on the trackhoe
$20,000 Budgeted amount Trackhoe undercarriage allowance
$20,000 Budgeted amount Track loader undercarriage allowance
$90,000 Budget line total Total maintenance/repair budget discussed
5 years Time period Approximate age of track loader undercarriage
70% to 85% Wear estimate Measured wear range on track loader undercarriage
25.86% Billing resolution rate Share of this year’s bills resolved
$47,905 Exemptions / adjustments Vacant-home and low-income/fixed-income exemptions
3.71% Exemption rate Share of total invoice volume exempted
25.25% Effective resolution rate Collections plus exemptions combined
$4,792 Revenue Sale of copper, brass, aluminum, and circuit boards
6 cents per pound Scrap rate What the material would have brought as mixed scrap
$3,100 Net value estimate Approximate added value after subtracting ordinary scrap revenue
80 hours Labor Trustee labor spent sorting upgraded metals
2 to 3 hours per day Labor rate Typical daily trustee time on sorting work
$35 per hour Value estimate Approximate return on trustee sorting labor
25 bales Bale count Example mixed-load quantity for plastic bottles
25 bales Bale count Example mixed-load quantity for buckets/jugs
19th Date Conference staff plans to attend for recycling-market contacts
January Implementation date Planned start of business billing list rollout