The Bulloch County Board of Commissioners talked trash during a workshop Tuesday morning, deciding to repeat an “attention-getting” tactic used in one area this month to encourage responsible waste disposal.

What seems to have worked to reduce illegal dumping at one Bulloch County dump site may work for three other unmanned sites in the southern end of the county, which are are slated for closure — at least temporarily, said Board of Commissioners Chairman Roy Thompson.

A few weeks ago, Thompson ordered the dumpsters at Rocky Ford Road and Old River Road North removed. Citizens who went to deposit trash at the site were met with a leveled area surrounded by yellow tape — and no trash receptacles.

That was “a wake-up call, an attention-getter,” Thompson said at the time. After about a week, freshly painted dumpsters were returned, along with signs clearly stating that the site is for Bulloch County residents’ household trash only.

Now, commissioners hope the same tactics will work at Old Groveland Road, Arcola Road at Highway 46, and Arcola Road at Highway 80.

Those areas are “deplorable,” Thompson said. On any given day, trash is strewn around the dumpsters, and debris such as old tires, furniture and yard waste is found in and around the dumpsters.

The site at Rocky Ford and Old River roads was just as bad, with a large amount of refuse being dumped illegally by residents of other counties, he said. But with the exception of a few tires stacked neatly outside of one trash receptacle on Monday, for the most part, people who have used the site since its temporary closure have shown respect and responsibility, he said.

Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to temporarily close the three additional dump sites.

“There will be a seven-day notice,” Thompson said. “We will take the dumpsters out, repaint them and (later) put them back,” he said. “We will see how citizens treat them then.”

Like with the Rocky Ford Road dumpsters, commissioners ask that residents take note of who is using — and abusing — these dump sites. Thompson urges people to report those they see dumping illegally, whether it’s people who leave items that should be taken to landfills instead (tires, tree limbs, building materials, furniture) or people from other counties who are using the sites.

The cost of these unmanned sites is high, and Bulloch County taxpayers fund the bill. Paying tippage and other fees to the Jesup landfill, where Bulloch County sends its garbage, as well as paying for localized cleanup is expensive, Thompson said.

There are 11 unmanned sites in the county, and “we have some terrible problems” with them, said Commissioner Jappy Stringer.

“Some of these sites are like a third-world country,” he said. “People leave couches, metal, building materials, and then you have scavengers who dump stuff out (of the bins while searching for salvageable items).”

Thompson hopes that the temporary removal of dumpsters at Old Groveland Road, Arcola Road at Highway 46, and Arcola Road at Highway 80 will cause residents to begin to appreciate the service.

“I think the people (who use the Rocky Ford Road site) respected that it reopened,” he said.

If the temporary removal of the dumpsters doesn’t work, another solution will be presented, Thompson said.

Commissioners also voted that the county stop picking up recyclable cardboard from area businesses.

The wire bins — fashioned out of metal hog-panel-type fencing — are found at many businesses and are meant to be used for cardboard only, he said.

However, all too often, they are used to hold other types of trash, which ends up costing the county in the long run, Thompson said.

The small amount of revenue generated by recycling the cardboard isn’t nearly enough to offset the cost of pickup and of disposing non-recyclable debris, Thompson said.

“Something has to be done,” he said.

Thompson encouraged county residents to offer feedback regarding the trash issue. He may be reached at (912) 764-0144.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.