Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

To the Editor:

Recently, the yearly bill for the Solid Waste Management Fee was received by the residents of Southampton County. Since this bill was received, I have seen multiple photos circulating of different trash dump sites in the County. These photos show trash overflowing from the dumpsters and piled on the ground around them. There have also been photos of trash being dumped outside the gates of the dump sites when they are closed. I have heard multiple reports of residents noticing non-residents using the dump sites, non-residents driving up in vehicles with North Carolina license plates. County residents must pay the $200 fee to be able to use these dumpsters, why are non-residents being allowed to use them? Why are these sites not being maintained properly?

When this “trash fee” first began residents were given stickers to place on their windshields to prove they were a resident of Southampton County and had paid the fee. If you did not have the sticker on your windshield, the attendant working at the site would ask for I.D. to prove you were a resident then point you to which dumpster to use. What happened to this practice? Why are the stickers not being used anymore? Why are the attendants staying in their shed all day and not attending to the residents?

If the stickers did not work as intended, then the County officials need to come up with a new solution. We need a solution that requires the attendants to do their job of making sure only County residents are using the dumpsters, and that the dump sites we are paying to use are being maintained properly by not allowing people to throw their trash wherever they please.

Jamie Story

Franklin