Culture Shock. That was the term ED#5 Supervisor James Edmunds described thereaction that County residents will have when they realize how expensive solid waste collection and disposal will become next year when the South Boston landfill is closed and Halifax County will begin to use the regional landfill in Boydton.

"Citizens have not had to pay for trash pick-up thus far, but when we have to transport our waste to the regional landfill and pay tipping fees, the costs are going to escalate quickly," added County Administrator Bryan Foster. Supervisors spent nearly two hours on Thursday during their annual retreat, discussing the upcoming additional expenses they face in dealing with solid waste and just how to pay those expenses.

First off they revealed that the County has an option on a 44 acre tract of land, located about five miles east of the Town of South Boston on US Route 58 where they expect to construct a transfer station. The transfer station will serve as a collection point for all county and town trucks that routinely pick-up solid waste. Those trucks will come into the station and transfer their loads into a larger truck which in turn will take the load to the Boydton landfill.

No solid waste will remain overnight in the transfer station, attracting rodents or insects, nor creating a smell and the facility will be "washed down" at the end of each day.

"We are working very hard to be good neighbors," said Board Chairman William Fitzgerald, who noted that the actual facility only requires about five or six acres, but the additional land of some 38 acres will be planted in pine trees to provide a buffer for all neighboring property.

The Board, in seeking the property, had outlined several requirements such as having it located off US 58 east of Riverdale, thus closer to the regional landfill and on a major highway. They also needed to have a property that included some slope, since the 30 foot high facility will be two stories, with the lower floor containing the larger transfer truck and the smaller collection trucks driving into the floor above to dispose of their loads.

A containment tank will collect any runoff from the station, thus there will be no effect on groundwater, said Ricky Nelson, head of Public Works for the County.

Supervisors had sought land in the selected area and when they were advised that the tract was for sale, they contacted the realtor who offered the property at some $159,000. The Board is still looking for any other property in the vicinity, but time is running out for making any changes in the County's plans. "We realize that neighbors have some very legitimate concerns," said ED#7 Supervisor Lottie Nunn in whose district the land lie. "But we have to move ahead because we have to have something in place by the end of December when we can no longer use the South Boston landfill.

Nunn said she has received several calls opposing the construction of the transfer station on the site, but during the Supervisors' retreat last Thursday, no one had a better option to offer.

In looking at the costs for solid waste, the Board emphasized the importance of recycling throughout the county, thereby cutting down on the volume of trash which has to be taken to the regional landfill. Nelson noted that efforts at all the county's convenience centers are being made to encourage greater recycling. One of the goals of the Board for the coming year is to establish three more convenience centers — one in the News Ferry community and two around the Town of Halifax.

Supervisors asked Foster to come up with a recommendation as to how to generate sufficient revenues to pay the cost of solid waste disposal, whether it be by instituting user fees or hiking property taxes.