(NORTH CAROLINA) Davie County officials have suggested a new waste-collection plan that could save the county more than $300,000 annually, but also could upset some businesses and county employees. The county is considering a privatization of its recycling program and the remainder of its trash collection program by Sept. 1. The move could save $360,000 in next year's budget. The county lost $200,000 in 2000-01 and $466,000 in 2001-02 in its waste-collection efforts.

The county's trash collection is already privatized, for the most part. GDS Inc. collects residential trash, and several companies collect commercial trash. The companies take the trash to the county's transfer station and pay the county $57 a ton, and the county then hauls the trash to Forsyth County's landfill. But under the latest proposal, the county would eliminate the transfer station, and GDS would take the waste directly to landfills. GDS would also establish a convenience dropoff site.

The county now collects all recyclables with the help of inmate labor. According to the proposal, GDS would pick up recycling once a week.

One of the main problems with the current collection system, county officials said, is that haulers often take waste to other counties and pay as little as $27 to $32 a ton, skipping the transfer station in order to save money.

For more information, contact the Davie County Department of Public Works, (336) 751-7407, www.co.davie.nc.us.