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MARIETTA - Cobb County is looking to begin negotiations to privatize its solid-waste operations.

The county has solicited proposals from firms for the operation or conversion of its three solid-waste facilities on County Services Parkway - a compost facility, a garbage transfer station and a green waste facility.

At the 9 a.m. meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Commissioners will approve the ranking of proposals received and authorize further negotiations for final contracts.

At the compost facility, the county collects garbage from 30 independent garbage collectors and the cities of Kennesaw, Marietta and Powder Springs. The garbage is mixed with sewage sludge to create a compost product.

The county's compost facility would undergo a drastic change under the proposal submitted by Advanced Disposal, based out of Jacksonville, Fla., along with Chicago-based Smurfit Stone Container.

Cobb Chairman Sam Olens said the county wanted to convert the former Bedminster compost facility into a recycling facility, and it has worked to the county's benefit that the top response was to convert it into a recycling center.

The former Bedminster compost facility has a smelly past in county history.

In 1994, under the leadership of former Cobb Chairman Bill Byrne, the county hired Newton, Mass.-based Bedminster to build and operate the compost plant on County Services Parkway. The plant was built in 1995 for about $26 million and opened in 1996.

Things quickly turned rotten for the plant as nearby neighbors complained about the stench. The plant caught fire twice and the plant racked up thousands of dollars of debt for the county.

Cobb assumed management of the plant in 1999, and still owes $13 million on the original bonds used to construct the plant. County officials estimate the county has spent $40.06 million on the compost facility.

"If (Advanced Disposal's) proposal is finalized, it saves taxpayer money and provides more recycling," Olens said.

Olens does acknowledge that the conversion will cause some of the collectors to purchase new equipment to pick up recycling, but he feels there is enough desire in the county for better recycling options.

"Homeowners are always asking me why we're not offering curbside recycling," Olens said. "The current compost facility does recycle a lot, but it has the ability to recycle much more."

The county's garbage transfer station needs to be rebuilt, Olens said, an estimated $1.7 million project.

The transfer station collects garbage from individuals and companies - a majority is non-hazardous construction materials - and then moves it to a landfill outside the county.

The county owns three landfills that are closed. The county has a contract with Waste Management to ship garbage to a landfill in Cherokee County.

Judy Skeel, interim manager of the county's solid waste department, said they would like the new station to be smaller, yet more efficient than the current facility.

Advanced Disposal is the county's top choice to replace and operate the transfer station, followed by Houston-based Waste Management.

If the county approves a contract with Advanced Disposal, the company would transport Cobb's garbage to the landfill in Forsyth, Olens said.

As for the vegetative waste site, TAG Grinding Services Inc. of Davidson, Ala., is currently operating the facility, and they have submitted the top proposal to continue, Skeel said.

Residents can drop off green waste - grass clippings, leaves, limbs, hedge clippings, landscape materials and logs - at the vegetative waste facility. The materials are ground into mulch for reuse as fuel and ground cover.

The move to privatize solid waste is to save tax dollars, Olen said.

He said it costs the county millions of dollars a year to maintain and run the facilities on County Services Parkway.

The solid waste department's fiscal year 2008 budget was $9.18 million, which covers operation of the transfer station and the vegetative compost facility, post-closure maintenance of the three closed landfills and administrative costs.

The compost facility's budget is an additional $5.76 million.

"We hope that by the county subsidizing solid waste, it will cost the county a fourth of what it is now," Olens said.

If the Board of Commissioners approves the agenda item on Tuesday, county staff can move forward with negotiations, Olens said.

He said he would like to present contracts to the Commission, and the two incoming commissioners, by the end of the year.

Commissioners Joe Thompson and Annette Kesting both lost re-election bids in the Aug. 5 primaries.

For Thompson's seat, Republican Bob Ott faces Democrat James Royal in the Nov. 4 election. For Kesting's seat, Republican Barbara Hickey faces Democrat Woody Thompson.

ahungerford@mdjonline.com

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