County to close two dump sites

Published 2:27 am Thursday, October 22, 2020

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Next week, Oct. 28 and Oct. 30, Lunenburg County will close two open can dumpsites in located at Gigg Road and Potts Spring Road, both in the Beaver Creek District.

“These are two of three ‘open-top’ dumpsites left in the county; therefore, these sites suffer the most out-of-county resident usage, overloaded dumpsters, and illegal dumping (bulky items),” County Administrator Tracy Gee said. “The closing dumpsites are unsightly and require staff to spend several hours at least three days a week cleaning up around the area; many times, the volume of waste on the ground requires a dumpster to be dumped and returned to provide enough room for the crew to dispose of the improper dumping at the sites.”

County officials are seeking land to purchase in the southeastern portion of the county to construct a manned solid waste convenience site.

Gee said there is one more unmanned site at the Lunenburg Courthouse, which will be changed to being open only on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. when the Courthouse is open.

“If we continue to see overloaded dumpsters, it will be closed to the public indefinitely,” she said.

Gee said they understand that this will be a big adjustment for residents to schedule their trips to deposit waste. Still, this process is necessary to eliminate bulky or unacceptable items at county sites and encourage residents to take them to the landfill.

To help with that process, Effective Nov. 1, the Lunenburg Landfill will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In addition to the two dumpsite closures, two of the current convenience centers located on Oral Oaks Road and Switchback Road will no longer be open 24/7. Beginning Nov. 1, they will only be open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The remaining four convenience centers will maintain their currently scheduled hours.

According to Gee, all convenience sites will be manned during operating hours and are for residential waste only.  Any items that are not residential waste such as tires, furniture, brush/wood mattresses, construction debris liquids (oil, grease), large electronics appliances, auto batteries, scrap metal, animal carcasses, industrial waste, commercial waste, medical waste and pressurized tanks should be taken to the landfill located at 45 Landfill Road.

“In order to reduce out-of-county use, site attendants may request identification from visitors as the sites are for Lunenburg residents and taxpayers only.” Gee said. “The most convenient form of identification is a vehicle registration, voter’s registration, or Lunenburg tax bill because they all indicate proof of residence and/or land ownership.”