VALDOSTA — The Lowndes County Commission voted Monday to allow Deep South Sanitation the opportunity to apply for a trash collection franchise.

The specially called meeting of the council was intended to find a conclusion to what has been a very controversial issue for county residents and elected officials.  The county, due to the exclusive agreement it had signed with Advanced Disposal, had sought to prevent Deep South from operating in the county.

Under the new ordinance, any company that wants to provide trash pickup service in the county can now apply for a franchise.  In addition, the current provider, Advanced Disposal, agreed to the new, non-exclusive agreement, which will also allow them to raise their fees.  However, the commission capped the price collection fee at $20 for any firm providing the service.

Cary Scarborough, owner of Deep South and a Lowndes County resident, told WALB in an interview that he still had details to work out regarding the new agreement, including the fee charged for using the county landfill.

Advanced Disposal will, in turn, be reopening two collection centers in the county.  One will be located at 4758 Loch Laurel Road and the other will be at 4040 Pine Grove Road.  Steve Edwards, the Georgia Municipal Marketing Manager for Advanced Disposal, told WALB that reopening the two collection centers will give county residents immediate relief.

The county mandated that the collection centers be open on Sundays, something Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker opposed.  He believes the county should not be mandating to businesses how to operate.  Chairman Bill Slaughter countered that the mandate was to ensure residents had weekend access to the collection centers.

Edwards stated that residents should expect Advanced Disposal to increase its rate from the current $12.80 to $17 per month.  That decision has not been finalized yet, he noted.  A price increase would likely take effect April 1st of this year.