CHRIS LOWREY
BRISTOL July 26, 2018
A massive load of garbage was left outside the gates of the Bristol transfer station on July 26, and again on July 29, leaving a mess for workers to clean up.
Employees discovered the trash the following morning when the facility opened.
The transfer station is open from Friday to Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The pile that was left on the night of July 26 was much larger than the one left on the 29.
“It was quite a mess,” said Bristol councillor Archie Greer. “It’s about two truckloads I’d say.”
The original debris included everything from a Nestlé freezer, an old desk, an old pickup truck cap as well as other pieces of industrial garbage.
“A lot of it maybe came from a shop or something because there was a lot of grinding wheels and welding rods and stuff like that,” Greer said.
The facility used to have surveillance cameras but not anymore.
Greer said he will broach the topic of re-installing cameras on site at the next council meeting.
The Bristol transfer station accepts many different types of refuse. All household waste and recycling is accepted as well as tires with no rims, yard waste, paint, small oil containers and filters and all types of metal.
The station does not accept building materials, porcelain toilets and sinks or large pieces of plastic.
Greer said that the four days the transfer station is open per week should be plenty of time for people to drop off their waste.
“That should be lots of time if you want to do it legit,” he said.
The station’s services are available to any resident of Bristol. Those from outside the municipality have to use the appropriate transfer station in their jurisdiction.
Since residents from other municipalities don’t pay taxes in Bristol, the cost to dispose of garbage dumped by those from other municipalities is essentially shouldered by Bristol residents.
Greer was disappointed to see that someone was careless enough to leave their garbage in front of the transfer station gates and in the ditches nearby.
He decided to take some photos and post them on social media in the hopes that the perpetrators can be tracked down.
“Maybe someone has seen that old red [truck] cap,” Greer said.
Greer also said that the employees at the transfer station do an outstanding job and shouldn’t have to deal with those who thumb their nose at the rules and leave garbage wherever they please.
“It’s just not nice cleaning up somebody else’s junk,” he said.
