On February 21st and 22nd, 2012, there will be a jury trial at Marlboro County (S.C.) Court House concerning the proposed landfill. Please put forth every effort to be here to fill the court room. Please pass this on to those who would be interested. This jury trial may be the determining decision we have been waiting for.

Scotland County of Tomorrow (SCOT), The Scotland County chapter of Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, contributed to a successful conclusion to a five year campaign against a mega-landfill in June of 2010. The 2005 proposal for a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfill, which was placed on hold because of the Solid Waste Management Act of 2007, was brought back at the January, 2010 meeting of the Scotland County Board of Commissioners.

The proposal was for a modification of an existing permit at the Construction and Demolition (C&D) landfill. The rationale was that the 21 acre leaking landfill can be remediated by constructing a 236 acre landfill, using existing landfill material as cover. The proposed landfill would have a footprint of 236 acres, be 240 feet tall, and would receive 3,000 tons of garbage a day. The location was ½ mile from the Town of Maxton, 2-3/4 miles from the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport, and 3 miles from the City of Laurinburg.

In March, SCOT hosted an open meeting with Neil Seldman, President of Institute for Local Self Reliance, to speak about the positive alternatives to landfilling, such as recycling hubs. Copies of the video were given to local officials and leaders. Besides our website, we circulated various printed materials including door hangers and posters with a map showing the location, asking people to ask where commission candidates stood, and to vote in the May primary. The Town of Maxton hosted a forum in which 16 people, including other BREDL chapter members, spoke against the landfill, and the Maxton Commissioners voted unanimously to send a resolution in opposition to the landfill. The Laurinburg-Maxton Airport Commission also sent a resolution, as the landfill would be too close to the runway.

At the June 2010 Board of Commissioners meeting, a motion to stop landfill activity in the county passed unanimously, as did "A Resolution Clarifying the Position of the County of Scotland as to Waste Disposal", shown below.