County files suit to shut down competing garbage companies

Published 5:00 am Sunday, December 17, 2017

Cullman County is going after three competitors providing residential garbage pickup and dumpster rentals locally, seeking a court order to shut down their operations. 

Last week, the Cullman County Commission authorized County Attorney Chad Floyd to file a complaint against the three companies, which were not publicly identified due to the pending litigation. The county contends they are providing services illegally to residents.

“The county passed a resolution years ago that states that the county commission is the sole provider of solid waste collection services within the bounds of Cullman County,” Floyd said. “This is based on a state law that allows commissions to pass such a resolution.”

Floyd said two of the companies are placing roll-off containers/ dumpsters at construction job sites throughout the county while the third is running a residential sanitation collection route on the east side near the Marshall County line.

Floyd said he has met personally with the companies’ management in an effort to resolve the issue and was assured they would cease operations in the county.

“I have given them time to modify their routes and live up to their word. Months after that meeting, I followed up with a certified letter. Still no change, so I feel as if I have to take legal action — talking is not getting it done.”

The county sanitation department recently launched its own roll off rental dumpster service and projects more than $84,000 in revenue from the operation in fiscal 2018. The sanitation department is fully funded by user fees, with a $5 million budget.

Almost 200 tons are dumped at the landfill daily — 70,000 to 80,000 tons annually — from the county, City of Cullman and local manufacturing facilities and poultry houses. In 2014, ownership of the landfill was transferred to Cullman Environmental, Inc., which has been managing it.