County council sees green

Charleston County could be taking a more aggressive approach in efforts to go green.

County Council members discussed Thursday ways to reach out to the community and ask the public for more input on being energy efficient and tackling environmental issues.

Councilman Joe McKeown brought up possibly forming a blue ribbon committee, which Councilwoman Colleen Condon suggested should be appropriately called a "green ribbon committee." The committee would report to council on potential improvements in countywide trash disposal and more.

"There are a lot of people in the community who are passionate about this, and we can put them to work," McKeown said.

He also suggested creating a database of contacts for reaching area homeowners associations and community leaders to gather their input on controversial issues such as the recent landfill expansion.

Council held a hearing recently where area residents, many of whom live in West Ashley, voiced their concerns about plans to expand a part of the Bees Ferry landfill.

Some residents complained they were not adequately informed about the landfill expansion plans before the county gained necessary permitting from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

On Thursday, Condon and Councilman Curtis Bostic also said future notices about important county issues should be more visible to the public.

Bostic suggested having a place on the county's Web site that displays notices about issues by district.

Reach Tenisha Waldo at 937-5744 or twaldo@postand courier.com.