Collection Station to raise fees, possibly expand in future

Ever since the Hood County Citizens Collection Station was created in 2009, county roads haven’t looked cleaner.

Located at 244 Bray St., off Coke Court from Highway 377 west of Granbury, the Citizens Collection Station gives Hood County residents a chance to dispose of large, unwanted items instead of dumping them on the side of the road.

Everything from sofas and love seats to mattresses and TVs are accepted, with fees varying in prices depending upon the load size. Fees for vehicle loads currently range in prices from $10 for a passenger car to $20 for a pickup truck with the load above bed level. Trailer fees range in price from $15-$45.

However, Jeannie Stacks, director of environmental health, said rates are expected to increase at CCS in about a month.

"I am proposing that we go up on the rates because one, we are one of the cheapest places in this area and two, they have gone up on our fees for the bulk because the Weatherford landfill is now full, so the cost to Hood County has gone up,” she said.

Items not accepted at CCS include: brush and limbs, commercial waste (businesses and contractors), household garbage (kitchen and/or bathroom waste etc.), hazardous waste (fuel, paint, pesticides etc.), liquids of any kind (except motor oil and antifreeze), shingles, masonry items, sheetrock, marble or ceramic tile and counter tops, ceramic toilets, sinks and/or tubs.

“It's mostly all just old household stuff. We don't take anything biodegradable or liquid — as much as they try and argue with us over it,” said CCS employee Brandon Swanson, with a chuckle.

RECYCLABLES

Recyclable items are accepted for free at CCS, and include paper, cardboard, glass, plastics #1-5 and #7, motor oil, filters, antifreeze, tires (first four are free), batteries (vehicle only) and metal, like aluminum, steel and cast iron.

“Paper and plastic, from what we understand, goes to a facility in Fort Worth and they separate the paper and the plastic at their facility,” said Tim Boyes, CCS employee. “The cardboard — which we do the most, we do about 2,000 pounds of cardboard a day — that goes to Fort Worth as well, but the driver told me it's turned into toilet paper. I always tell people there's a chance you're buying it back again.”

Moving boxes, Boyes said, are probably the type of cardboard that they receive the most, other than Amazon and other merchant boxes like Chewy and HelloFresh.

“We were just talking about this earlier,” Boyes said, with a chuckle. “What are these people buying every week? Because it's the same faces and they have just stacks and stacks of boxes like, ‘What do y'all buy?’”

PROCESS

When residents pull up to the gate, they will be checked in and employees will confirm that they are a Hood County resident before directing them to where they can dispose of their items.

‘It’s a county-only operation,” Swanson said. “You have to have some form of identification that proves that you are a Hood County citizen, so normally we check license registrations, license plates or a driver's license.”

“And with new people moving in, we also will take utility bills because we get license plates from all over the country, but they'll be like, ‘We just moved here,’ and they'll show us utility bills, so that works, too. We just need to know you're a Hood County resident,” Boyes said.

CCS is also a self-serve facility, meaning employees like Boyes and Swanson are not able to help residents unload their vehicles.

“We'll have people come out like an older gentleman with oxygen and everything. I feel so bad, but I'm literally not allowed to help unload this stuff, so it always helps to have a younger person with them, for sure,” Boyes said.

BIZARRE ITEMS RECEIVED

Of course, working at the Citizens Collection Station does have its amusing moments — especially when residents try to drop off bizarre items.

“Weird stuff that we've gotten? Oh, goodness, gracious,” Swanson said. “Medical waste, a dead cat, freezers full of deer. We got a box of porn today.”

FACILITY GROWTH

Since the facility opened in 2009, it has received a grant in 2012 and received an expansion in 2019, where the facility essentially doubled in size. However, with the growth in Hood County, more people are using the CCS every day.

“Some busy days, we've seen the line wrap around the corner on a Wednesday and go almost all the way back down to 377,” Boyse said.

“We were going from doing 100-120 cardboard bales a year. We've already done that this year,” Stacks said.

In fact, according to Swanson, about 120 people visit the CCS facility every day.

“I would say honestly, that's probably the biggest hurdle facing this facility — the influx of new residents,” Swanson said. “It wasn't until about two years ago that they expanded, and it already seems like we're going to be looking at needing to expand again.”

“A lot of our regular recyclers are definitely retired people, and then because they're sharp about when they get here and what days they come out, it’s to the point to where we know what day it is or when we’re about to close just when we see their face,” Boyse said.

He said the "regulars" will come by and have their dogs in the vehicle, so dog treats are always on hand.

“There's one lady who comes out here and she won't leave until we make sure her dog gets a treat. Every time we see her, one of us grabs a Milk-bone and runs out to the car,” he said.

POSSIBLE EXPANSION

It’s unsure what the future will hold for CCS as far as any potential expansion on the facility, but there will definitely be a need sometime in the near or distant future.

Stacks said she is already prepared for when that day comes.

“If everything goes well, we will keep going,” she said. “If we do find the need to increase in size, in days, you know, if that becomes an issue, (we will do it). Right now, Wednesday is our busiest day.”

HOURS OF OPERATION

The CCS is open on Monday, Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. and on Wednesday from 12-5 p.m.

CCS only accepts cash or checks.

For more information, visit co.hood.tx.us/498/Citizens-Collection-Station.