The trade-off to a big growth county
Oconee County’s growth climate brings newcomers, creates jobs, and swells the tax base. But one county department director has his eye on what goes into the ground — the growing accumulation of solid waste. Latest figures show for the 12-month period from July 2022 through June 2023, the county expended $6.7 million to rid itself of solid waste. Some of its goes into the ground near Seneca; much of it continues to be trucked to a northeast Georgia landfill compensated to be Oconee’s solid waste depository. Swain Stihl, director of Oconee Solid Waste, spoke to 101.7/WGOG NEWS about the costs, coupled with a plea for Oconeeans recycle as much as possible.