Officials Have to Talk Trash

Well, maybe not you personally. But in the Triangle, our trash heap grows at about one ton per resident each year. That's a lot of junk to deal with.

Waste management isn't exactly the most exciting subject in the public policy world. But if the garbage trucks suddenly stopped coming and your front yard turned into a reeking compost heap, you'd get a sudden burst of civic interest.

Luckily, local leaders are trying to head off any problems with your garbage before the flies start swarming.

In a new bout of regional cooperation, the mayors of Raleigh, Cary, Durham and Chapel Hill discussed last Friday possible ways to cooperate in waste management and recycling.

They came to the conclusion that if the municipalities worked together to create regional landfills and recycling centers, everyone could save money.

Additionally, by working together, the mayors can have more leverage when it comes to just how the garbage is disposed of in the future.

Such mayoral solidarity isn't new. The mayors of the Triangle's four largest cities and towns -- Charles Meeker in Raleigh, Glen Lang in Cary, Bill Bell in Durham and our own Kevin Foy -- have held monthly meetings to hash out ways to handle the Triangle's burgeoning population.

Primarily, the leaders have talked about improving the mass transit systems and other transportation infrastructures linking the metropolitan areas.

But while solid waste isn't the most appealing dinner table topic, it's a problem that every town has to deal with.

Particularly those in the Triangle.

Right now, both Cary and Durham contract waste disposal with BFI/Allied, a company that runs a landfill in Lawrenceville, Va. They have to renew their contracts annually.

Orange and Wake counties own their own landfills in-house. However, space is expected to vanish in those landfills by 2006.

That's alarmingly close at hand, especially considering the snail's pace speed of building any new dump or waste facility.

It's not, however, very surprising. The population boom over the last decade or so has left most municipal services strained: water, schools, roads.

As more people toss more trash, waste could overwhelm a city or town.

But by working together, area mayors hope to make things much easier on themselves and their neighbors.

One benefit of cooperation: cost.

By banding together into a collective, local governments can get better rates on dumping, hauling and recycling contracts.

Think of it like buying in bulk: Getting a 48-pack of toilet paper at Sam's Club can save you a lot more money than if you got it in smaller packs at Harris Teeter -- even if it is on VIC special.

Unfortunately, there are many hurdles on the horizon. Ideally, the Triangle could utilize a single landfill for all of its dumping needs.

But which county will take it? And more importantly, which residents will refrain from shouting "NIMBY!" (Not in My Backyard)?

Everyone wants their garbage taken away. But "away" means "not within 50 square miles of my house."

A proposed landfill for Wake County in Holly Springs is stalled in court. Plans for a regional landfill in Chatham County were scrapped last year due to residents' protests.

The Orange County Regional Landfill, built in 1972 along Rogers and Eubanks roads, has spawned accusations by residents near the site that water contamination has made them sick and that the landfill deflates home values, keeping their socioeconomic status low. The fact that there is a sizable black population near the landfill fuels the suspicion and anger.

The mayors realize that the next few years will not be easy. They plan to take the baby step of building a regional composting facility or recycling center before looking for landfill space.

Though caution may stave off residents' ire for a few years, the trash will keep piling up. We can't wait forever.

Columnist Jonathan Chaney can be reached at jhchaney@email.unc.edu.