All Beaufort Co. trash dumps will require decals starting Jan. 1. What to know
If you plan to continue using one of Beaufort County’s convenience centers, you must apply for a decal as soon as possible.
The decals will be required at all county trash dumps starting Jan. 1. Although a $500,000 road construction project to support the decals on Hilton Head is ongoing, the convenience center there will still begin implementing the system in January, interim Deputy Administrator Robert Bechtold said.
As of Monday, about 23,500 people have applied for a decal, said solid waste and recycling director Cindy Carter. And the county is expecting a “last minute surge” of registrations over the next few weeks, she said.
The decals — which can be placed on your car windshield or called up on your phone — are a part of the county’s attempt to curtail illegal dumping in the area and cut costs at the convenience centers. A solid waste study presented to council last year found that the 25-year-old trash dumps are too expensive to operate and lead to traffic, environmental and safety problems.
On top of requiring decals to dump, the county has already reduced hours at all 11 convenience centers and will close the Pritchardville and Gate trash dumps in Bluffton and Beaufort by the end of the year.
Cameras are installed at the centers and “enforcement action will be taken” against violators who continue dumping at Pritchardville and Gate next year, Carter said.
Critics of the plan say the decal system will lead to more illegal dumping. They say that closing the two trash dumps will deprive residents of the “convenience” the centers provide.
So far, about 19,500 decals have been sent out to Beaufort County residents, Carter said. Though approximately 97,000 households are eligible for the service, more than half of those residents already have curbside service, she said. Carter said she’s expecting about 35,000 decal applications “at minimum.”
Carter said the county has experienced some problems with “poor data” on about 500 of the decal applications that don’t match tax records. She recommends people apply online to save time.
The centers will start implementing the new decal system with a “soft opening” until decals can be issued to everyone who has applied, she said. Staff won’t initially turn people away for not having a decal, she said.
“Not everybody will have their decal when we start this,” she said.
How do I apply?
To receive a decal, Beaufort County property owners must either apply online on the county’s new website, or they can fill out an application in person at one of the centers.
You must be a property owner to apply for the decal, meaning residents who are renting apartments or homes must contact the owner of their apartment complex to get a decal.
Once the application is approved, a physical decal will be sent to each property owner. The decals must be placed on the top passenger side of the vehicle’s windshield.
Each household member will receive an electronic copy of the decal for their phones, which will allow them to visit a dump using a different vehicle.
Each household will be allowed to visit a convenience center no more than three times a week. The county initially said it would allow people to visit only twice a week.
To apply for a decal, visit https://apps.beaufortcountysc.gov/SWRDecal/decal-reg.php.
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 11:03 AM.
