The Opinion Blog

In the Horry Garbage Trenches

Sunday’s editorial attempts to explain why normal folks might want to pay attention to the flow control debate that’s been consuming local politicians:

Your trash disappears each week like clockwork. Leave it by the curb or throw it in the Dumpster and it’s gone in the morning. Most of us don’t care that much about how it happens as long as it takes place.

So why should Horry County residents care about the knock-down, drag-out fight taking place over the county’s trash management rules? A couple of reasons. First because it’s your money being used to wage this fight. Second, because our leaders’ time and energy are not infinite, and the vast amounts of energy expended on dealing with local garbage means less to spend on other issues.

Half a Law, 10 Times the Cost

Sunday’s editorial describes how a state law that only got half finished is costing local governments hundreds of thousands of dollars and could lead to an unnecessary tax increase in Horry County:

How does Horry County’s bill for disposing of old TVs and computers unexpectedly spike from $30,000 a year to around $300,000 a year, raising with it the possibility of a tax increase for county residents? It wasn’t a giant increase in TV purchases. No, blame a hurry-up-and-stop legislative process.

Overreach on Pool Lifts



Tuesday’s editorials:

Just in case the many voices complaining about burdensome federal over-regulation had run out of gripes, the Department of Justice has kindly offered one more unnecessary and intrusive requirement to add to the list.

As hotel owners and hospitality industry folks up and down the Grand Strand are well aware, the Justice Department has decided to require fixed pool lifts at every publicly accessed pool in the nation. On its face, the rule is well meaning. Disabled patrons deserve the chance to enjoy the swimming pool at their hotel or in their neighborhood just the same as everybody else. But good intentions seem to have trumped common sense.

At Last, Some Good Trash Talk



Friday’s editorial urges Horry County and state leaders to work on their relationship, which has fractured noticeably during the recent debate about where to send our local trash:

“Why would they introduce a bill that goes against the people of Horry County?”

– Horry County Councilman Harold Worley, speaking of local legislators

“It’s not free enterprise, it’s not open market; it’s government monopoly.”

– S.C. House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, sponsor of H. 4721

When it comes to determining what to do with our trash, most residents probably don’t care that much. Pick it up from the curb, truck it away and it’s quickly forgotten. But what to do with all that trash once it’s in the truck has quickly become the focus of quite a fight among local leaders.

Cleaning the Shores



Friday’s editorials support the annual beach sweep taking place this weekend and offer our thanks on POW/MIA Recognition Day.

Labor Day is now in our rearview mirror. Students are back in class, and most of the summer’s tourists have returned to their homes across the nation and the globe. The crowds are thinning on our beaches and on our waterways. And another busy season has left another layer of trash and litter behind, piled up over the last year. Thousands of volunteers will fan out across the state this Saturday to peel this film of gunk off our natural resources once again.

Downhill Flow



Sunday’s editorial highlights a pair of recent stories that show just how important water quality is to our region.

 

Back in July, we decried the misleading way that a national report on “beach quality” misrepresents a trip to our greatest resource as only a one-star experience by conflating water-quality reporting with actual water quality.

Our central complaint, however, was not to dispute the fact that too much bacteria is in our water too often – it was that the poor construction of the report gives our area an excuse to hide from that ugly truth. Now, a pair of recent articles underscore the central issue further – we must pay better attention to our water quality.

Everyone loves balloons

Saturday’s editorial offers a little applause to the Horry County Solid Waste Authority for taking creative action to address some residents’ concerns.

The Horry County Solid Waste Authority deserves a tip of the hat for an unusual decision this week – hoisting a bright blue balloon over the dump.

Hitting the Books and the Bins

Tuesday's second editorial praises this year's increased push for recycling at Coastal Carolina University:

If Coastal Carolina University freshmen haven't already learned about recycling in high school, they will be receiving an appropriate introduction in their dormitories to it this year.

On top of ol' Trashmore ...

Today's editorial exhorts Horry County Council to debate the wisdom of declaring a trash monopoly and stacking local refuse at the S.C. 90 dump:

Work the phrase "local solid-waste policy" into your conversations and the eyes of your friends and neighbors are certain to glaze over. Most readers expect their trash to disappear cleanly from the curb on collection day in return for a reasonable hauling fee but aren't terribly curious about where it goes.

Scavenging to become a 21st-century artform?

Ripped from the wires ... A Colorado writer extols the virtues of modern-day trashpicking, touting it as a habit we might all have to learn:

By Craig Childs

A farm couple in Colorado opened their fields in November to gleaners, giving away what was left of their harvest. Expecting about 5,000 people to show up, they were shocked when 40,000 arrived. This might be a sign of the times. As the economy plummets, we enter an environment ripe for scavengers. From field gleaners to garage-sale aficionados, they are everywhere and are coming from everywhere. I am one of them, a modern hunter-gatherer.