Carrboro Board of Aldermen explores options for reducing solid waste

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen discussed current and upcoming solid-waste issues for the town and neighboring jurisdictions at its meeting Tuesday.

Talk about waste

The board voted to research waste-reduction options.

The Orange County Solid Waste Management Department is required to update its 10-year solid-waste management plan every three years.

The plan includes litter control, waste reduction and recycling. It includes the University.

The board discussed whether or not a pay-as-you-throw system would be viable for Carrboro as a waste-reduction technique.

A pay-as-you-throw system would not place a fixed fee on waste collection, but instead would impose costs based on volume or weight for the waste.

Department representatives suggested that although the system is an effective tool to reduce waste by 6 to 25 percent, the county's billing structure, automated waste-collection system and waste cart size would make the administrative costs of implementing the program too high.

Where solid waste from the town and the county will go in the future also was discussed.

Waste currently goes to the Orange County Landfill on Eubanks Road, but the landfill is expected to close in 2010.

The county solid waste management department already has made preliminary estimates for a transfer station on the same road.

A transfer station is a temporary holding facility for solid waste before it goes to its final destination. The proposed site is in the Chapel Hill planning jurisdiction.

The transfer station would have two bays that could service two to three trucks at a time. Although the county will not need two bays for several years, the costs of expanding the station in eight to 10 years would be substantially higher.

Smith Level Task Force

The Smith Level Road task force presented a draft letter to the board requesting resident and official appointments from various jurisdictions, including Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, Orange and Chatham counties, local schools and the N.C. Department of Transportation.

The task force was commissioned Sept. 5 to combat increased traffic, protect the University Lake watershed and help pursue the addition of bike lanes and sidewalks along Smith Level Road.

The task force has asked the DOT for help in collecting traffic data and considering pedestrian safety strategies.

The Smith Level Road task force has asked that planned sidewalks and bike lanes extend from the Orange-Chatham county line to Weaver Street.

Concerns involved the proposed widening of the road by the DOT - which petitioners were against - as well as potential safety concerns for students at Carrboro High School, which will open Aug. 2007 and is serviced indirectly by Smith Level Road.

COMPILED BY TONY KIM