§ 32-152. Findings of fact.

Upon extensive investigation and consultation with county staff, consultants, and the several private haulers in the county, the board of county commissioners hereby finds the following:

(1)

To ensure the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the county, all solid waste generated in the county must ultimately be deposited only at appropriate disposal and/or recycling sites, as defined in section 32-153.

(2)

In the county there exists at the date of enactment of this article, excessive and unacceptable "midnight" dumping of solid waste into mechanical containers and onto remote rural areas of the county. Such dumping poses an imminent threat to the health and safety of the citizens and residents of the county and further imperils the welfare of the county to the extent that such dumping desecrates and destroys the natural environment and scenic beauty of the county.

(3)

County expenditures are as of June 10, 1985, required for the periodic cleanup of those remote rural areas of the county subject to such "midnight" dumping. Although required, such expenditures are wasteful of tax revenues and should be eliminated if possible.

(4)

The full solid waste and recycling collection service contemplated by this article will be effective to ensure the policies stated in subsection (1) above, and will contribute greatly to alleviate the problems recognized in subsections (2) and (3) above.

(5)

Programs such as the full solid waste and recycling collection service as contemplated by this article are encouraged by the state to implement state environmental policies.

(6)

Increasingly sophisticated resource recovery facilities may be needed by the county in the future to ensure that various federal, state and local environmental policies are implemented fully within the county. Full solid waste and recycling collection service as contemplated by this article will enable the county better to control the "stream" of solid waste in the county, and such control is necessary to generate sufficient disposal site revenues to finance required resource recovery facilities.

(7)

The full solid waste and recycling collection service as contemplated by this article will enable franchisees to collect solid waste more efficiently, to reduce overhead costs, and to decrease the percentage of uncollectible accounts. These economies can and will be passed on to consumers of solid waste collection services.

(8)

The full solid waste and recycling collection service as contemplated by this article will allow the solid waste division to operate, more efficiently, disposal sites to the extent that full service allows franchisees and licensees more efficiently to collect and haul all solid waste generated in the county.

(9)

The above-described problems and policy objectives cannot be fully addressed unless the board undertakes as a governmental service the collection, transportation and disposal of all solid waste generated in unincorporated areas of the county on property entitled to full service as defined. However, the board recognizes fully that providing solid waste collection as a governmental service can best be accomplished by using the efficiency and economy of the private solid waste collection industry in the county.

(Code 1965, § 15-42; Ord. No. 85-17, § 2, 6-10-85; Ord. No. 97-23, § 1, 12-16-97; Ord. No. 2008-03 , §§ 1, 2, 2-5-08)