PLATTSBURGH -- Clinton County Legislator Sam Trombley is upset about the cutback of hours at the Mooers convenience station.

The trash-collection site is slated to close two days a week beginning Oct. 1, leaving residents of the area only three days a week to dump their trash.

The station is now open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Starting Oct. 1, the station will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be closed on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Trombley (R-Area 2, Ellenburg) said the limited hours will create a hardship on residents, who will have a difficult time adjusting to the new schedule.

He worries that trash might pile up at homes and at the convenience station.

The cutback of hours is also hampering Northern Adirondack Central School, which produces a large amount of garbage on a daily basis, he said.

"We've been good to Casella, so whatever can be done to keep these stations open should be done," Trombley said at the recent Clinton County Legislature meeting.

NEW AGREEMENT

Casella Waste Systems has operated the County Landfill and the 12 convenience stations since it entered a lease with the county in 1996.

In February, Casella agreed to keep the convenience stations open at least until the end of 2012 in exchange for increasing the tipping fees for vehicles using the scales at the main landfill in Morrisonville.

Casella did, however, maintain the right to modify the convenience-station schedule of operation.

Landfill Manager Craig Squier said the reduction in hours at the Mooers convenience station was a matter of economic necessity.

He said they studied traffic patterns at the station and determined that cutting back would not adversely affect users.

"We are trying to manage our business in a cost-effective manner and better control our costs, like everybody else.