Carbon officials addressed litter problems along Airport Road at the May 16 commission meeting.
The concerns were raised by Harvey Howard from the Desert Thunder Raceway.
According to Howard, a group of volunteers from Desert Thunder regularly go out before race days and pick up garbage along the roadside.
The garbage problem is becoming increasingly worse, pointed out the group.
For example, volunteer David Dornan reportedly picked up an old shingle with several nails sticking out of it from the side of the road.
The shingle apparently flew off a truck hauling a load of debris to the county landfill.
According to Dornan, he approached the driver and showed him the hazardous piece of material. The driver reportedly seemed unconcerned and continued on the way to the county landfill.
“This is getting to be a regular occurrence,” said Dornan.
Many truck drivers are not securing loads and are losing debris on the way to the landfill.
“This is a very serious problem with the potential for disaster,” indicated Dornan.
Dornan also noted that the issue was brought to the attention of the commissioners last year.
“I felt relieved and assured that the council was going to act on this problem,” stated Dornan.. “But nothing has happened.”
After discussing the matter, Commissioner Mike Milovich made motion for the county to adopt an ordinance to remedy the problems.
The commissioners supported issuing $20 tickets to all individuals carrying unsecured loads of loose debris to the county landfill.
After being cited by a landfill attendant for non-compliance with the secured load ordinance, people will be allowed to dump the debris at the waste disposal facility.
“We should have an officer in place on Airport Road to issue citations,” said Milovich.
Under the ordinance, people can receive citations for refusing to pay the tickets or turning around at the gate and leaving with unsecured loads.
Residents who are hauling old washing machines or large pieces of furniture to the county landfill may need to tie the items down, but will not need to cover the loads.
The officials passed Milovich’s motion and the matter will be brought back for final approval at the next commission meeting.
Commissioner Bill Krompel motioned for a 30-day public notice before the ordinance goes into effect in July.
A sign will be posted at the entrance of the landfill advising residents when the ordinance will officially take effect.
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