Aug. 30—They're big and bulky, and now they're banned.
Starting Thursday, Sept. 1, the Hall County Landfill is no longer accepting mobile homes and boats, along with roof shingles, bulk Styrofoam and propane tanks, in an effort to conserve space in the landfill at 1700 Oakbrook Drive, off Candler Road/Ga. 60.
"This effort will extend the life of our local landfill, allowing Hall County to continue providing waste disposal services to citizens well into the future," said Srikanth Yamala, Hall County public works director.
"We do understand that citizens may still have a need to dispose of these items, so we encourage them to seek out alternative methods, especially forms of recycling and reuse."
Propane tanks, for example, can be dropped off at numerous locations, including "the same places where you'd go to refill them, like your local grocery store or gas station," Yamala said.
Also, other landfills in the region may take the items being banned, but residents "are encouraged to call ahead of time before they visit," a county press release states.
The decision to ban the items was made as part of Hall's ongoing work on a solid waste master plan, spokesman Brian Stewart said.
"Staff began exploring opportunities to limit certain items that require additional air space while compacting them into the active landfill cell," he said.
According to the county, the landfill gets three or four boats per month and mobile homes even less seldom — about one or two a year.
The landfill has permits from the state Environmental Protection Division to design and build three more cells, or areas for trash disposal, giving the landfill a lifespan of about 15-20 years, Stewart said.
The county "will reevaluate in 12-18 months to see what additional air space we will be gaining overall from this prohibition," he said.
What: Mobile homes, boats, roof shingles, bulk Styrofoam and propane tanks will no longer be accepted.
Officials are lauding the city's progress, but some experts ponder the long-term plan — especially as seasonal outlooks indicate yet another dry winter is in store for Southern California.
“We’re making Earth our only shareholder,” the brand’s founder Yvon Chouinard says. “I am dead serious about saving this planet.”
County officials say there is a shortage of railcars and crews to ship trash out, leading them to shut down transfer stations and drop boxes for the next two Sundays.
STORY: Samsung Electronics wants to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The world’s largest maker of smartphones and chips said Thursday its investing more than $5 billion dollars into major eco-intiatives by 2030. Kim Soo-jin, Samsung's head of ESG strategy group, said the company hopes to “contribute positively” to climate change issues by developing better technology. "Samsung Electronics will actively take part in activities to overcome the climate crisis through innovative technology, such as ultra-low-power products and recycling resources, and do our best to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050." The South Korean firm said it will spend the money on research and development for technology aimed at filtering out greenhouse gases and capturing carbon dioxide generated during chip production. Samsung is also seeking to bring up the portion of reused plastic in its devices to 50% of all plastic by 2030, and 100% by 2050. Other initiatives include recycling more resources such as lithium and cobalt used in its devices, boosting production of energy-efficient chips and devices, as well as slashing water usage. The company said it joined a group of global corporations committed to 100% renewable energy called RE100, following in the footsteps of global peers such as Apple and Intel. South Korea has said it aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, but experts say it’s especially challenging for a country with large scale heavy industry, including shipbuilding and steel.
Patagonia’s founder has given away the company to fight climate change. Other brands that are taking measures to help the climate crisis like Madewell, Allbirds.