DeKalb County considers banning garbage disposals in homes

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A local county is considering banning something many of you use in your kitchen several times a day: the garbage disposal.

At a meeting in DeKalb County, officials said they are looking at fining residents who continually dump grease down drains and are considering banning disposals in new construction. This would mainly target new multi-family developments.

In 2017, the county spent $22M on the cleanup and maintenance efforts.

The DeKalb County CEO told Channel 2's Sophia Choi this is already paying off with fewer spills in the first quarter of 2018 versus 2017. They plan to spend another $79M before the 2020 Environmental Protection Agency's consent decree deadline.

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DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond says the county fell behind in meeting the EPA consent decree because no one was appointed project manager between 2011 and 2014. He also laid out the source of the county’s sewer problems that led to huge spills, like the 6.4 million gallon spill into Snapfinger Creek last August.

"The absence of written standard operating procedures," Thurmond said.

The county says it now has standards and protocols to follow when dealing with potential problems and new tie-ins. It is now targeting residents and businesses.

"We want to work with our business community, particularly our multi-family development," Thurmond said.

Thurmond says the county is looking at fining those who continue to dump grease down drains, and banning garbage disposals in new construction.

But the county is also looking at rewarding folks who do the right thing.

"I want to reward good behavior. I want to reward developers who decide not to put in disposals in every unit. I want to reward developers who help capture and properly dispose of the grease from their units," Thurmond said.

Thurmond says the cleanup is working, with spills down 31 percent, when comparing the first quarter of 2017 to 2018, but it’s costing big money.

Cox Media Group