City asking residents for
garbage compliance
Published Sunday, April 13
By Jebb Johnston
Staff writer

The city of Corinth is asking residents to tidy up their compliance with garbage ordinances to help curtail escalating costs.

Mayor Jerry Latch said the city has provided services for many years that exceed what the ordinance allows. For example, the occupants of a house may move out and leave several pieces of furniture to be collected.

"The cost of labor, materials, equipment and gas has got to the point where it's prohibiting us to do over and beyond what our ordinance calls for," he said. "We're trying to do the most we can for the citizens without having to raise their garbage bill an enormous amount."

With those concerns on the table, some revisions to the garbage ordinances are expected to come before the Board of Alderman in the near future. Copies of the current regulations may be obtained at City Hall or the Corinth Street Department.

In addition to those costs, the county is imposing a transfer surcharge that is expected to cost the city $700 to $1,000 more per month to get its trash to the landfill.

One situation the city especially wants to discourage is people moving out of rental properties and leaving a large amount of furniture and appliances at the roadside.

"This ordinance clearly says that it is the responsibility of the homeowner to haul off anything that does not fit in the two-wheeled cart the city of Corinth supplies," said Latch. "The owners of that property are responsible for that, and it is against the law to pile anything out by the side of the street."

Street Commissioner Jim Bynum, who manages the city's garbage collection, noted that the $1 rubbish fee added by the city several years was intended to cover things such as small limbs and shrubbery trimmings.

The fee now totals $10.

"We do more for the city residents here than any other town that I know of - our size, larger or smaller, he said. "Everybody charges a fee to pick up hot water heaters, a stove, a refrigerator, couch or chairs."

Bynum said residents can help by adhering to guidelines in the ordinance, such as keeping limbs in segments of less than 4 feet and weighing less than 100 pounds. Shipping boxes need to be inside the carts, not stacked beside them, he said.

He reminded that any contractors, builders and other commercial ventures whose work creates rubbish on private property are required to dispose of it themselves.

Animal waste is to be sealed in a separate, air tight plastic container.

Return home