Working smarter to improve waste collection in Georgetown County, S.C.
For years, Georgetown County, S.C., faced a familiar challenge that many coastal and parks communities know all too well: rapidly growing waste output, increasingly constrained staffing, heavy manual labor, and rising public expectations for clean, well-maintained beach access. At peak season, overflowing cans and time-consuming trailer runs made it difficult for the county’s parks and recreation department to keep up.
By summer 2024, the problem had become unsustainable.
“It was getting impossible to keep up with the trash,” says Beth Goodale, Georgetown County Parks and Recreation Director. “We were running two trailers at a time with four paid staff, and even then, we couldn’t stay ahead. We needed to work smarter, not harder.”
The department began exploring options that would allow crews to collect more trash more quickly, with fewer injuries and less strain on staff. The result was a major operational shift: transitioning from traditional bulk trailers and 55-gallon liners to a compacting trailer system paired with 92-gallon roll-out cans.
