Orange County dedicates October to reducing single-use plastic waste

If Halloween isn't your thing, this October you can celebrate the Reduce Single-Use Plastics Month. The Orange County Board of County Commissioners has dedicated two months of the year toward reducing plastic use. 

Orange County resident Kim Piracci first heard about Durham’s Skip the Straw Day this past March. Inspired by the city’s efforts to reduce plastic waste, Piracci emailed the BOCC. 

Penny Rich, the vice chair of the BOCC, said commissioners faced a dilemma: it was already partway through March, too late to establish the month as Skip the Straw Month.

The group then referred the proposal to the Solid Waste Advisory Group, which requested that the county issue a proclamation which went even further.

The group’s wish came true on Oct. 17, when the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, Chapel Hill Town Council and BOCC issued a proclamation declaring October 2018 Reduce Single-Use Plastics Month and March 2019 Skip the Straw Month.

The proclamation’s goal is to reduce the utilization of all single-use plastics by residents and businesses. This is to be accomplished by encouraging reuse and durable alternatives, refusing single-use plastics when offered and offering compostable or reusable alternatives.

However, Rich said Orange County officials are not able to enforce the proclamation because of Dillon’s Rule, which prevents local governments from enforcing beyond what the state enforces.

“What we do as a county, though, is if you want to ever be involved with providing food or catering any of our events, you have to be a restaurant or a caterer that uses compostable items when you bring it into any county office, and you won’t be considered for a job unless you do,” she said.

She said the county runs educational programs to encourage people and businesses to limit single-use plastics waste, but even this can be difficult. 

“The educational part really is a challenge, though because in the state that we live in right now, where people are still denying climate change, it’s hard to convince them that they’re adding to it by using single-use plastics,” she said.

She also said businesses are often wary of using compostable utensils such as paper straws because such materials tend to fall apart easily, and business owners may see them as an unnecessary additional cost. 

Muriel Williman, Orange County’s recycling education and outreach coordinator, said the environmental impact of single-use plastics should be factored into cost calculations.

“I think that at the end of the day, this is a decision that the business owner needs to make," she said. "They have to decide that the value of changing their packaging practices is more than just a bottom-line decision, that it has an external value, that it has a value to the community, and so they’re willing to make that additional effort and waylay that additional cost.” 

Williman said the costs of sustainable dining practices may not be as significant as they are presented to be.

“Frankly, the cost sometimes is not any different, and people just don’t want to do the investigation,” she said.

Piracci said a common misconception held is that adopting environmentally-conscious habits has costly and negative effects on the economy.

“It seems that people see concern for the environment and jobs as conflicting goals, and if we reduce fossil fuels then the jobs for fossil fuel people will reduce, and it’s actually true," she said. "But they will be replaced by clean technology jobs, and so you know it’s a trade off, but I think in terms of this certain restaurants will embrace it and they will love it."

Williman said not all plasticware is recyclable. In addition, composting in Orange County is limited. 

For this reason, it is important for people to avoid creating plastic waste in the first place by refusing single-use plastics and by bringing their own silverware and reusable boxes for takeout, she said. 

Renee Price, an Orange County commissioner, agreed that it is important to redirect the focus from reusing and recycling plastic to reducing the use of plastic.

“I just hope that the University students will go along with us in March, and maybe in the cafeteria to not have plastic straws," she said. "I think that would be helpful because you know what we’re really doing — those of us that are older — is trying to make sure that there’s a decent environment for the generations to come.”

Williman hopes this initiative will eventually extend beyond the county.

“We might be able to say one day that it’s straw-free N.C., not just straw-free O.C.,” she said.

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