Parish Could Help With Trash
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
St. Landry Parish government is in the early stages of devising a trash abatement plan that parish president Jessie Bellard thinks will provide more convenience for individuals that might not be able to easily access the Solid Waste Commission landfill at Beggs.
Bellard unveiled his trash disposal strategy on April 8 during a special Parish Council meeting and discussed the proposed strategy again last Wednesday night during a regular meeting of the St. Landry Parish Council.
Council members have expressed a need to curtail parishwide illegal dumping and reduce the number of large roadside trash piles that appear both outside and within municipal boundaries.
The Council has taken no action on the parish trash intervention proposal, since Bellard indicated that he will be required to consult with Department of Environmental Quality officials before creating a final decision.
Bellard told the Council that individuals have complained that the landfill trash site established on SWC property at Beggs is located too far to always serve as a state-approved trash disposal site.
In order to provide more convenience to assist parish residents with disposing of trash that may not fit into roadside containers during weekly collections, Bellard said the parish might be able to step in and provide relief.
“Right now (the parish) is planning to address this. We have two dumpsters available from the Ag Arena to collect trash. What we want to do after discussing this idea with the DEQ, is to set up sites at different locations in order for people to bring their trash,” Bellard said.
Bellard indicated that he wants to create a scheduling arrangement that involves several areas of the parish in order to facilitate a more organized method for parishwide trash collection.
“It’s time for us to do something. Right now we have too much trash. The Solid Waste Commission can jump on board if they want to,” added Bellard.
During the April 8 Public Works Committee Works Committee meeting, council members examined photos of several large roadside dumping site photos provided by SWC employees and discussed how to perhaps alleviate a pervasive parishwide trash dumping problem.
The Initial Plan
“There will be ramps provided (where individuals with identification) can drive up to a ramp, unload your trash and that’s it,” Bellard said.
Bellard also indicated that the containers will not remain at each of the trash pickup locations.
“We’re not going to have a trash pile. The dumpsters will be brought in once a week to the different areas. There will be a schedule and we will let people know where we will be on a certain day,” Bellard added.
Bellard said Morgan and Morgan, a private company hired by the SWC to assist with large roadside trash collection has been handling the trash situation, but trash is evidently so prevalent parishwide that it’s apparent more assistance is necessary.
