Your annual solid waste disposal bill

The $54 fee has been in place since September 26, 2000, when it was approved by Commissioners as a way to help cover - in the most evenhanded way possible - the enormous expense of transporting garbage outside Lawrence County for disposal.

Our solid waste facility primarily serves as a transfer station. Household garbage is delivered there by city garbage services, or by private haulers that pick up residential garbage in the county. The fee you pay to have your garbage picked up at your house is for that service alone.

Non-recyclables, which make up the majority of our waste stream, are transferred to trucks that deliver them to a Mississippi landfill. That is a completely different service that you are helping Lawrence County shoulder when you pay your solid waste bill.

There are a number of ways to pay that $54 fee. You can pay it online through LawrenceCountyTN.org. You can deliver it in person to the Trustee’s office in the Administrative Center or to the Office of Accounts & Budgets at 202 Deller Street. It can also be mailed to that address or deposited in the drop box located in the Courthouse parking lot.

The due date is November 30, 2016 but a grace period with no penalty extends through December 31, 2016.

Penalties of $1 a month begin accumulating in January, 2017. Partial payments can be arranged, but the penalty will continue to be applied until the bill is paid in full.

After one year without payment, your account is turned over to a collection agency. A report is also delivered to credit agencies, so the debt will affect your credit score.

There is help available for those who need it. If you’re under age 65 and draw Social Security disability; or you are over age 65, and in either case your annual income is less than $29,180, you can qualify for a 50% discount on your solid waste bill. To apply for relief, take a copy of your statement from Social Security or a current bank statement to the Office of Budgets & Accounts.

By the way, the only waste that actually stays in Lawrence County is construction debris. Ours is a “demolition landfill,” and the people who use it – primarily contractors – pay for the privilege according to the weight of the trash they put in it. Recyclables are collected and stored until they can be sold.