By Catherine M. Welch
Wilmington, NC – New Hanover County Commissioners are scheduled Tuesday to go over proposals sent in by private companies seeking to take over the county's landfill.
For more than a year, commissioners have been trying to figure out whether they should hang on to their landfill and waste-to-energy facility or out source its management to private industry.
The journey started with a county-appointed committee urging commissioners to hang on to its operations and invest in WASTEC by boost fees. But commissioners disregarded that suggestion and called for proposals that came in this fall.
Seven companies turned in proposals including Waste Management. It says the county will pay it $14 million a year if it lands a ten-year contract. Plus the company says it will make more money capping landfill gas and making WASTEC more efficient.
Of the 40 landfills in the state, New Hanover County is one of 33 municipalities that runs its own landfill.
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