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DeKalb solid-waste director outlines expansion of recycling, composting and beautification programs
Summary
Director Eugene McKinney said DeKalb County is shifting sanitation toward sustainability, citing a 128-route beautification program, a landfill diversion goal and new composting and cart-inventory pilots as priorities.
Eugene McKinney, director of DeKalb County's solid waste department, told residents the county is moving beyond basic collection to treat waste as a resource, saying, “Cash or trash is cash.” He described programs that include beautification, recycling processing, methane-to-fuel capture and plans to expand composting across the county.
McKinney outlined operational scale and recent achievements: the department serves about 182,000 customers, manages 128 routes, and collected 37,000 tires during recent collection efforts; he also said the county received an award from the Georgia chapter of the American Public Works Association. McKinney credited partnerships with contractors — including Pratt Industries in Conyers for recyclable processing — and said new pilots (roll carts and RFID tracking) are intended to improve service and reduce costs.
Why it matters: McKinney framed the changes as both environmental and financial—improving diversion reduces landfill volume and processing costs, while captured landfill gas can power county vehicles. He said sustainability work will include customer-service changes (a new customer-experience focus), expanded composting and ongoing community engagement.
The presentation closed with a question-and-answer period that ranged from multifamily recycling options to hazardous-materials handling. County staff said a new chief of sustainability will roll out a volunteer sign-up and weekly compost pickups for residents who enroll.
