With the forecast of our local population doubling over the next two decades, the closing of the Middle Point Landfill could arrive more quickly than anticipated. Just last month the Murfreesboro City Council approved a memorandum of understanding that the city and county will share the expenses of this venture.

Although the county commission has not yet approved the plan, the concept is to hire a landfill consultant who will prepare our community of 300,000+ residents to exist without a landfill. And remember, by 2023, the projection is for 600,000+ residents in this county.

Earlier, Rutheford County Mayor Ernest Burgess said . . .

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It is estimated that consultant expenses would be in the $300,00 to $400,000 and range, with the investment anticipated to be to be shared with the city and county. However, this particular plan has not come before the Rutherford County Commission at this time.

Currently, there are no fees for for the local governments to place their garbage in the Middle Point Landfill. That was a contractual agreement originally between BFI and Murfreesboro-Rutherford County when the the waste firm purchased the approved landfill site. Republic Services pf Phoenix now owns the facility.

Residents will go from paying zero tipping fees for a place to dump garbage, to annual tipping fees of $1-million or more. In addition, the expenses of trucking local waste to distant locations would substantially increase as well.

Of the almost 20 counties that haul waste to Walter Hill, Murfreesboro and Rutherford County comprise approximately eight per cent of the total.

It's interesting that almost a year ago, similar concerns were in the forefront CLICK HERE to return to that story. In fact, this has been an on-going topic on NewsRadio WGNS for more than a decade. And over the years, it appears that a major ingredient in the solution is re-cycling. As of this time, there have been many suggested courses of action discussed, but no path has been fully embraced.