Solid Waste director outlines e‑waste shift, in‑house tire hauling and expanding compost pilot

Beaufort County Solid Waste and Recycling Director Victoria Hoffman reported operational changes and pilot programs at the board’s meeting, saying the department has shifted away from hosting large e‑waste events and now participates in the South Carolina state clearinghouse to lower costs. "In FY25 our purchase order for this cost was $108,000," Hoffman said. "In FY26 our purchase order was $65,000, and now in FY27 we're looking at less than $5,000."

Hoffman told the board some items — printers and electronics containing batteries — remain outside clearinghouse coverage and still require county handling, which reduces revenue from recyclable materials. She identified PowerHouse as the clearinghouse‑assigned vendor that accepts many accepted electronics.

On tires, Hoffman said the county will bring hauling in‑house because it already has hauling equipment, staff and a hauling permit. She said subcontractor costs for tire hauling were about $90,000 in FY26 and that, after accounting for tipping fees, fuel and mileage, in‑house handling could reduce that to an estimated $20,000. "This allows us to have greater control of the process…and that's also gonna decrease cost," she said.

Hoffman described vendor demonstrations of third‑party compaction and pre‑crushing equipment for open‑top containers and said a contract could reduce hauling by an estimated 40 percent; she framed the $500,000 figure that was discussed as a potential, not a finalized savings. Board members asked for follow‑up cost details before budgeting.

Operations and diversion initiatives were a major focus. Hoffman said staff are now using Smartsheets to track daily field inputs from each convenience center. She also highlighted the in‑vessel compost pilot, initiated in January, which she said has diverted roughly 16,000 pounds of food waste and about 10,000 pounds of yard waste so far and has more than 600 resident registrants. "We are composting it in house because of the in‑vessel unit," she said.

Hoffman reported personnel requests in the FY27 budget to add a lead attendant at the Hilton Head convenience center and a third foreman to improve supervision across county centers. Board members cited recent gaps in barcode scanning metrics and urged clearer oversight; Hoffman said tire counters and other measures are used to compensate for occasional human error and that a solid waste handbook is being developed to standardize duties.

Hoffman also reviewed past MRF (materials‑recovery facility) work: an RFP in 2022 had identified the Green Machine system for a Simmonsville Road site, but the location proved infeasible due to parcel and roadway constraints and local zoning; she said county‑wide tonnage reported to date (about 4,000 tons) falls short of the roughly 10,000 tons a private operator said would be needed to make a standalone MRF feasible.

The board asked for additional data and reports, and Hoffman said she would circulate prior studies and the state’s waste audit results. The board agreed staff should continue to refine cost estimates, staffing needs and vendor proposals before final budget decisions. The meeting closed with staff agreeing to follow up by email and to pursue short, focused work sessions before the July meeting.