Orange County updates waste plan

Orange County staff will post the latest update to a plan to reduce its solid waste on its website today — a year after it was due to the state.

Since the county implemented its Solid Waste Management Plan in 1997 to satisfy a state requirement, it has reduced solid waste by 54 percent and extended the life of the county landfill to 2013.

Although due June 2009, the update represents careful deliberation and cooperation by the Solid Waste Plan Work Group, said Blair Pollock, county solid waste planner.

The group is comprised of delegates from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and the county.

The plan aims to reduce solid waste in the county by 61 percent but has no time frame since the county rescinded the deadline.

However, the county has kept up with and surpassed the state’s solid waste reduction goal of 40 percent by 2001.

As long as the update is turned in before Jan. 1, the county will be eligible to receive some new state funding for solid waste management, said Gayle Wilson, director of Orange County Solid Waste Management.

The amount of funding will depend on how many counties across the state turn in their updates on time.

Wilson said the update will likely be submitted to the state in December and estimated that the county could receive between $8,000 and $30,000.

County Manager Frank Clifton emphasized the importance of finalizing the plan in time.

“They’re not large dollar amounts, but delays in having a plan might jeopardize you for qualifying for those resources, which would have to be made up in other fees,” he said.

The county will host a public hearing Sept. 29 as part of the approval process.

“We’ll be asking the public their opinion on the 61 percent goal and show some of the progress we’ve made towards it,” Pollock said.

“Unless all of Orange County makes the effort to participate, it doesn’t mean much.”

Recognizing the need to reduce solid waste or run out of room at the county landfill on Eubanks Road, the county has implemented several practices to decrease waste.

“Of course all landfills biodegrade, so we’ve taken advantage of the rotting of the waste to make extra space,” Wilson said.

The county has encouraged increased recycling, especially through a ban on disposal of corrugated cardboard, which takes up a lot of space in the landfill.

Pollock said this effort probably extended the landfill’s life by a year. The county also partnered with Durham County to transfer its waste temporarily.

The county is using a new material to cover the landfill. The previous cover — soil — used six times the space.

Additionally, the slow economy has led to a decrease in waste — a typical trend during economic slowdowns, Wilson said.

Orange County has delayed finding a new landfill site through decreased waste, but it will continue to look for a new site over the next few years, Pollock said.

Contact the City Editor

at citydesk@unc.edu.