The county’s solid waste officer has hit the ground running, already writing five citations for various violations at the county’s garbage pitch-in sites.
Tommy Hefner joins the county as the new solid waste officer thanks to a solid waste grant from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The grant, which was accepted last year, provides $24,289 for Hefner’s salary to patrol the dumpster sites throughout Yazoo County.
Hefner appeared before the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors to report that he has already written five citations.
“I have been called some names that I have never heard before,” Hefner said. “I even tried looking them up online and couldn’t find them. It’s a slow process, but tickets are being written.”
Hefner said those cited are given the opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty in their alleged offense. If a not guilty plea is entered, a hearing is then held. The matter and potential fines are handled through the Justice Court.
“Some of them I sit, wait, look and observe,” Hefner said. “Sometimes I have driven up on them and caught them. I physically see them unload the trash and leave it on the ground.”
The illegal dumping of contractual debris and tires, as well as litter from dumpster diving, has been a problem within the county for years. Many dumpsters are also destroyed by fires purposely set by people, costing the county about $2,000 to replace each dumpster damaged.
In the past, the county board approved the purchase of cameras to place at the pitch-in collection sites. But county leaders feel they are moving in the right direction with the recent MDEG grant to put some more teeth into the matter.
“You have so many dump sites, making it harder for me to try and be everywhere,” Hefner said. “It’s going to take some time, but I don’t give warnings. Prior people have given out warning for four months. Warning days are over.”
The fees associated with the violations include:
* Scavenging (dumpster diving): $300
* Illegal dumping (including animal carcasses): $500
* Dumping of tires: $3,000
“Nothing has been done in the past, but things are changing,” Hefner added.
