Large containers could make for cleaner Oconee

Ever since the pandemic, the volume of trash handled by Oconee Solid Waste has risen substantially.  This week Swain Still, the director, ascribed two factor for this:  One is the fact that, because the virus has confined many to home, county residents have done a lot of house and yard cleaning, and thus send more waste to the convenience center; second reason is the huge amounts of debris that remain from the April tornado in Seneca and surrounding area.  Yet there remains a lot of litter on private property, and one county councilman, Julian Davis, says the amount is so great that several Oconeeans can’t get rid of it themselves or afford the high cost of professional removal.  So, the question that arose Tuesday at the county’s Pine Street complex was how county government can lend a further hand.  Unfortunately, according to Amanda Brock, county administrator, the size of some individual furniture trash is so large that the convenience center machinery can’t compact them.  A potential solution is the temporary placement of large containers in communities such as Utica and Mountain Rest.