Dave Maxwell - Solid waste bins are filled to capacity at the Alamo collection station. Similar scenes are likely in all other communities of the county since Recology suspended operations June 17.

Dave Maxwell –
Solid waste bins are filled to capacity at the Alamo collection station. Similar scenes are likely in all other communities of the county since Recology suspended operations June 17.

Trash from private and business sources is beginning to pile up in all the communities of Lincoln County since Recology, the solid waste hauler, suspended collection service as of June 17.

A special meeting is scheduled for Monday at the county courthouse in Pioche for the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners to address the problem. The meeting begins at 8 a.m.

District Attorney Daniel Hooge was to meet with District Judge Gary Fairman this past Wednesday to request an injunction that would force Recology to continue hauling the county’s solid waste for a period of time.

On the other side of the question, as reported in the Record June 10, Western Elite has given the commissioners a proposal of $50,000 a month for trash hauling, which includes settling issues with Recology.

Until a decision is made regarding Western Elite’s offer, Commissioner Paul Donohue said the commissioners would have to insist that Recology continue to haul the trash during the litigation process. “We can’t just let it pile up.”

Hooge said at the time, the county could file a preliminary injunction to make that happen “and a judge would likely move on it really fast.”

Civil law holds that a party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties, including possible monetary sanctions and even imprisonment and can also be charged with contempt of court.

In the meantime, a number of private citizens and business owners are not happy with the growing amount of trash around their homes or places of business. The Lincoln County Detention Center in Pioche noted they collect between 15 and 18 large bags a day, not counting the empty boxes and wrappings that come from weekly deliveries of various suppliers that service the facility.

One business owner said it was the county’s fault for getting themselves into this mess, going as far back as when the first contract with Recology was signed.  “An injunction now might be fine,” the person said, “but who is going to haul my trash this week?  If I have to load up my own truck and haul it down to Apex, I just might send the bill to the county.”