Recycling deal between Charleston, Horry counties may end up in the trash

A contract to send Charleston County’s recyclables to Horry County may wind up in the trash.

The proposal couldn’t find enough support among Horry County Council members Tuesday night. Unless some county leaders change their minds, the deal will be scrapped.

Although the Horry County Solid Waste Authority agreed to process Charleston County’s recyclables, the contract hinged on support from Horry County Council, which approves the authority’s spending plan each year.

Because the Charleston County deal would change the authority’s budget, any amendment must be approved by a super-majority of Horry County Council, or nine members. Tuesday’s vote was 7-4 in favor of the contract, but the simple majority wasn’t enough. Councilmen Jody Prince, Al Allen, Johnny Vaught and Cam Crawford voted against the measure.

“If we don’t get it passed, then we won’t be able to continue to operate the contract with Charleston County,” said Lance Thompson, chairman of the authority’s board. “We hope there’s another way to somehow get that completed.”

Charleston County leaders reached out to the authority in late May because the Lowcountry county was ending its relationship with Sonoco, which had been processing its recyclables. The county needed time to build a new recycling facility, officials said. The old center Charleston County owned couldn’t handle the volume of materials.

Horry County Council members expressed frustration with the hastiness of the proposal, and even those who supported the contract agreed that Charleston County shouldn’t have pushed for last-minute negotiations.

“I don’t like dealing with a gun to the head,” Horry County Councilman Gary Loftus said. “When you rush things, they generally get screwed up.”

Authority officials have estimated Horry County could receive 72,000 tons of Charleston County recyclables throughout the next two years — a move that could net the authority more than $1.6 million.

Earlier this year, the authority discussed increasing garbage fees in Horry because it anticipated a $600,000 revenue decrease in recyclable sales revenue. That’s because market prices for recyclables like scrap metal, paper, cardboard and more have dropped due to an over-saturated market.

Some authority leaders contend the Charleston County deal would work to the agency’s financial benefit, netting an anticipated $70,000 per month.

“We felt like it was a win-win,” Thompson said. “It was a good deal for the citizens of Horry County.”

Thompson said the extra money would help the authority balance its budget. That task proved difficult this year.

“There were a lot of different things that were done to try to balance that budget,” he said. “Cost reductions, watching overtime, [using] some reserves.”

During questioning from council members, Thompson said a consultant representing Charleston County contacted authority staff about the possibility of a recyclables arrangement on May 28. A few weeks later, Thompson said, the authority’s board was notified of the proposal and later the panel voted to allow staff to negotiate the contract.

On July 31, Charleston County ended its contract with Sonoco.

“This doesn’t seem like a very good way for Charleston to be doing business,” Vaught said. “To put this thing off right until the end, and all of a sudden they’re getting rid of or firing Sonoco and so now they’ve got to find a fallback position.”

Those who supported the deal with Charleston County argued that reneging would make Horry County look bad.

“Let’s don’t let politics kill this deal,” Horry County Councilman Harold Worley said. “On top of that, they’re already out there doing it. ... It’s going to be very, very embarrassing to the Solid Waste Authority and their board. It’s going to be very embarrassing to this council and to the people of Horry County. We just need to move forward and do it and be done with it and move on.”

Council Chairman Mark Lazarus agreed.

“There’s nothing wrong with this contract,” he said. “What’s wrong with this is the way it came about.”

Lazarus reminded council members that when the county’s recycling facility was destroyed by a fire in 1997, Charleston County stepped up to help.

“Guess who came to the rescue for Horry County?” he said. “Charleston County did. They took our recyclables for us on a moment’s notice. They did that for us. Somewhere in the future, we’re going to need Charleston again and I’m sure they’re going to need us again. We sit too close to each other.”

During the heated discussion, council members took a five-minute break. Then Worley asked his peers to delay voting until the next meeting.

Neither strategy worked.

“I was a little bit surprised,” Thompson said of the final vote. “I knew that there were some concerns. I felt like we had addressed those concerns and answered all the questions.”

As for what’s next?

“We have to go back to Charleston County and say, ‘Sorry, it was not approved by County Council and we will not be able to continue,’” Thompson said. “They will need to decide what will happen with their materials. I don’t think their facility is in good enough shape to restart. ... We’re going to try to cooperate and do whatever we can.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 7:26 AM with the headline "Recycling deal between Charleston, Horry counties may end up in the trash."