Brundidge officials are fighting to keep the city’s landfill open and under local control, but the future is unsure.

With the privately owned landfill in bankruptcy, courts are considering the sale of the facility to an LLC that has received the endorsement of Coffee County officials. The group has offered $4 million – a sizeable sum – and Brundidge officials say the only reason they would be willing to pay such a large sum of money for Brundidge’s landfill is if they plan to shut it down and funnel all the business to the Coffee County landfill.

It’s a plausible theory, and one that has prompted Brundidge officials to file suit seeking a court intervention over the Coffee County officials’ involvement in the process.

As the legal battles unfold, the citizens of Brundidge and the Pike County businesses that utilize the landfill may be wondering why they should care. Consider this, from Brundidge City Manager Britt Thomas: “this will hurt, not just our town’s revenues, but our citizens, who are facing the likelihood of increased collection and disposal costs.”

Higher costs for monthly garbage collection and increased fees for businesses and industries that haul waste to the landfill (and may have to utilize an out-of-county landfill) could well be in our future in the Brundidge landfill is sold and closed.

Citizens of Pike County deserve to know all the facts – and to understand the ramifications – of the proposed landfill sale and possible closure.