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3 <br />Orange County Solid Waste Reduction Goal <br />In 1997 the State required each governmental entity to adopt a local waste <br />reduction goal. That goal was to be calculated by taking the amount of municipal <br />solid waste landfilled per-capita in any given year and compare that to the <br />amount landfilled per capita in the base year (1991). The State performs the <br />calculation and assigns the individual reduction rates. Orange County adopted a <br />very aggressive waste reduction goal of 61 %. We have been recently informed <br />that the County's FY 2008-09 waste reduction rate is 54%. The Plan under <br />development requires the County to again state or reaffirm the local goal. <br />Unincorporated Area Solid Waste Plannina <br />Solid Waste and recycling management in the unincorporated areas are key <br />elements of the plan on which the Work Group has focused this past fall. Final <br />recommendations on the rural area will be integrated into the overall solid waste <br />plan. The upcoming County budget process will provide additional focus on <br />SWCC funding and service level issues. Citizen interest on this matter is high. <br />The Work Group is preparing a set of recommendations to the Board that <br />includes future utilization, design, location and financing of the convenience <br />centers, recycling program improvements/expansions and the level of County <br />involvement in waste collection. <br />Issues surrounding the operation, design, location and financing of the solid <br />waste convenience centers are the most pressing elements for the <br />unincorporated areas. The Work Group has examined a variety of convenience <br />center models, plans, financing mechanisms and operating modalities and a <br />memorandum is included as Attachment 2. <br />Public Input Process for Solid Waste Convenience Center and other Rural <br />Waste Issues <br />One aspect of developing these recommendations is gathering public input, <br />which could be done using a series of public information meetings throughout <br />the county to present options and gather feedback. The Work Group introduced <br />the concept of public meetings conducted near various Solid Waste <br />Convenience Centers. Focus for each meeting would be on gathering comment <br />from the area residents. Those meetings, with approval of the BOCC, would be <br />conducted in February and early March so results could. be included in 2010-11 <br />budget planning as well as incorporated into a draft solid waste plan. <br />Other tools that could be used to gather input include focus groups and a variety <br />of opinion survey instruments. One opinion survey has been conducted by a <br />volunteer citizen group and there has been additional input given at a recent <br />Solid Waste Advisory Board meeting, Work Group meetings and through various <br />citizen phone calls and email communications. Information previously presented <br />