Car tyres waitng to be recycled at a garage in Rochdale.
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Georgians pay a state fee when they buy tires or get their garbage hauled off. The fees are supposed to go to environmental cleanup, but for years they’ve been diverted to fill holes in the state’s general budget.
That might finally change.
According to the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, the fees have brought in about $200 million since 2004. But less than half of that has actually gone to cleaning toxic landfills and tire dumps, as called for by state law.
To change the trend, ACCG lobbyist Clint Mueller is banking on a new provision in a recently-passed bill.
“The idea is either the fee goes to the intended purpose set out in state law or we eliminate the fee over time.”
Mueller hopes the prospect of losing the fees will convince lawmakers to use the funds as intended.
He says when cleanup dollars are redirected, counties are the ones that end up paying.
“When we have these extra burdens and we’re barely making ends meet with our constitutionally-obligated services, it makes it really difficult at that point in time to find the revenues.”
The bill, which includes the new provision, awaits approval from the governor.
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