Agenda - 05-21-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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16 1 My name is Sue Scope I am a parent of 2teenagers that go to CHHS. I live in the 2 unincorporated area of Orange County As a parent, resident of OC, and someone who cares 3 about the environment, I am speaking out tonight against the idea of franchising, because I 4 believe that trash is a pubUc-responsibility. I believe that the government should always be at 5 the helm of the trash disposal and trash management process. I know that Orange County has 6 done an outstanding job of keeping all of the waste issues connected in order to improve 7 disposal. For those who may not know, currently our public system integrates many of the 8 pieces of this puzzle. This includes, but is not limited to: 9 10 a. Convenience Sites 11 b. Hazardous Waste Services. 12 c. Government Building Recycling 13 d. The Organics Program 14 e. Commercial recycling of business waste 15 16 Personally, I have been involved in the issues of waste and composting since last year. 17 In November of 2012, my friend Bing Roenigk and I approached Todd LoFrese, the assistant 18 superintendent of the Chapel Hill Carrboro School District and asked that polystyrene (ps) trays 19 be removed from school lunch rooms. We knew that ps is considered a possible carcinogen by 20 the EPA and FDA, and especially when heated, poses a chemical danger to humans. The heat 21 aspect is important because our kids are eating hot meals off of these trays; and in particular, 22 when a meal is especially good, the kids are scraping the tray to get as much food off of it as 23 possible, thus increasing their exposure. In addition,they are not compostable, and take 24 roughly 5,000 years to decompose. Todd and many other dedicated people, including Muriel 25 Williman, Blair Pollack, Liz Caftan°, David Dean, Carolyn Buckner, Amy Rickard, Amy Brooks, 26 and others, helped us to understand this issue. I was truly surprised and encouraged by the 27 sense of community and the dedication of all of the people who helped us. 28 Through this issue, I realized that Orange County has a process that looks to the future. 29 It exists when a Phillips Middle School parent can test and implement a program that now 30 enables the schools to reduce the weight of their trash, as well as recycle milk cartons. It exists 31 when schools are starting or growing student-led Sustainability Clubs. It exists when there are 32 Sustainability Awards given out to those in the community who have made a difference in 33 teaching the importance of the environment. The new elementary school in Chapel Hill will 34 have many sustainability practices from the time its doors open. And it exists when two parents 35 can ask for, and get the help of, so many of our public sector's employees in order to address a 36 health issue. 37 Timer went off, and her statement was cut short. She concluded with the followi 38 So my primary purpose here tonight is to ask you to close the door on the franchise 39 discussion. The manager's focus, while addressing, the letter of a legal issue that needs 40 attention, is missing the primary point of this endeavor. The point is our children. So I am 41 asking you to use that time to decide on the best way forward that uses government resources 42 in the best way possible. Let's continue on that path and encourage each school, business, and 43 homeowner to continue to make theinterre|a1innship'thenwvvnornne|^ forourcornnnunity. 44 45 Bing Roenigk introduced herself and made the following presentation: 46 For some of you that do not know, my past career was in local government in the 47 financial and budget area. I am going to put my budget hat on here and express some concerns 48 about the County Manager's proposal.