Vegetative waste re-use partnership pilot project underway

Published 6:50 pm Friday, August 2, 2019

Troup County has partnered with The Ray C. Anderson Foundation (The Ray), Georgia Power and Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to contribute to the success of the proposed Right-of-Way Solar Project, while simultaneously combating the disposal of vegetative waste at the community landfill.

The county is participating in the pilot project by contributing an abundance of vegetative re-use material from the Troup County Landfill to serve as thriving soil for pollinator plants that will be used as the ground cover management strategy in the solar generation project.

In an attempt to alleviate the abundance of yard waste at the Troup County Landfill, the county is transporting the soil amendment created from old, decomposed leaves and limbs to the property at Exit 14 in LaGrange off of Interstate 85, where the project will be implemented this fall.

According to a press release from the Troup County Board of Commissioners, the county is excited to partner with The Ray, Georgia Power and GDOT to help assist in the innovation of roadside solar energy in Troup County and to help alleviate the ongoing disposal of vegetative waste in the community by re-purposing the waste. 

Due to the expected success of the solar project, this technique may become a model widely duplicated in other areas.

The Troup County Landfill is currently not accepting vegetative waste from the public due to an abundance of waste that caught fire last year when it was ignited by lightning, but the county hopes to reopen the landfill to accept vegetative waste again soon. As an alternative, the county always encourages residents to dispose of vegetative waste through means of composting and/or legal burning.