New waste director will take on trash
By Matthew Whittle
Published in News on May 2, 2007 1:57 PM
The face of Wayne County's solid waste department has changed, but the man replacing director Lloyd Cook after 19 years has been there even longer than the former U.S. Air Force chief master sergeant.
Tim Rogers, who currently is serving as the assistant director, has worked at the landfill for 23 years.
"He's worked the whole gamut starting from the bottom and working to the top. He'll do a good job for the county. He's prepared," Cook said.
Rogers first began in 1984 as a truck driver.
From there, he became a mechanic for the department's equipment, then began overseeing the machine shop and most recently was promoted to assistant director.
But he never planned on becoming the solid waste director.
He originally just wanted to work in the machine shop, but when there were no openings, he decided he'd just get his foot in the door as a driver.
"I started and I just kept progressing. I couldn't see leaving home from my family, and everybody I knew said I needed to hang in there," Rogers said. "I just felt if I stayed with it long enough and worked hard enough and smart enough, I'd move on up."
Since then, he's seen the landfill change and grow from simply dumping the trash into a hole in the ground and covering it, to a complicated system of liners and methane and leachate collection systems. He's also helped implement the county's recycling program.
He said he's excited he'll have the opportunity to lead the department as those changes continue.
"The landfill has had to become more environmentally conscious and there's more that'll come down because of that. I'm looking forward to those changes," Rogers said. "I'm excited about this opportunity."
After advertising the opening and considering several candidates, County Manager Lee Smith said that he's confident that Rogers is the right man for the job. He was formally offering him the job, with a salary of about $48,000, this morning.
"He's following in Lloyd's footsteps. Lloyd's allowed him to do a little of everything out there," Smith said. "He's very experienced and we have total confidence he'll do a good job out there."
The best part, though, is that the county can likely count on Rogers, 41, to do a good job out at the landfill for a long time to come.
"I've got a few more years to go," he said.