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

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18 1 backdoor service to elderly and disabled oustonners, as well as recycling at no ex ra charge. 2 She said that a waste franchise would have a negative impact on those s ia| needs 3 residents. She said that option 6 seems to provide the best opportunity for businesses like 4 hers to remain in business. She said the second issue is the alternative dumping options due 5 to the closing of the Orange County Landfill. She said that the only current option is to 6 transport the trash to Durham,which is a 50 mile round trip and doubled dumping fees. She 7 said that all other surrounding counties and landfills have denied use of their facilities. She said- 8 thmt, being a small company, these private businesses transport less than one ton of recycling 9- or trash per trip and with the increased ratea, mileage and time, will soon be out of business. 10 She proposed that small, registered trash companies be allowed to dump at the convenience 11 centers with a special permit and a flat rate pay system that is currently in use at the landfill. 12 She said that this would include only companies that hand unload and separate trash and 13 recycling. She said that a pay as you throw system might benefit individuals, but it would more 14 than double small company fees. She said that this proposal would allow Orange County to 15 continue collecting a portion of the revenues lost at the closing of the landfill. She said that her 10 company alone paid over$7,000 in dumping fees. She said it would also support local 17 business and local economy. 18 19 Bonnie Hauser, Orange County Voice, read the following: 20 We studied the rural curbside recycling 5 years ago. At the time, the county wanted to 21 close convenience centers and introduce waste franchises. We surveyed the trash and 22 recycling habits of rural households. Dr Karl Hoffman, demographer, led our team—and we 23 had 881 responses from households throughout the county north and west of Chapel Hill. 24 Based on our survey responses, 85%of rural residents recycle regu|edy. 60%compost yard 25 waste, 48% compost kitchen waste. Given trends in composdng, those numbers could be 26 higher now. 27 First some basics- The County's five convenience centers are the county's most 28 important recycling service. The county's website reports that over 40% of the residential 29 recyclables go to convenience centers and drop sites. That is over 5000 tons a year. The rural 30 curbside recycling program is much smaller—about 15%. or just over 1800 tons a year. 31 Today the county provides rural curbside recycling to roughly 13,500 rural households. 32 Thousands of those households DO NOT USE THE SERVICE TODAY. They already opt out. 33 Our survey, which was consistent with the county's own dsta, suggested that about 40%of the 34 13,500 households opted out. That's about 5000 families. 35 Our survey asked why. Most respondents (about 80%) said it was easier to take their 36 recyclables to the convenience centers when they took their trash. Others mentioned service 37 issuea, mostly access to their home and frequency of service. 38 You may want to verify with the county, but we're guessing that thousands of families 39 still opt out of rural curbside recycling. Since our waste reduction rates are at an all time high, 40 there is no evidence that"opting out" has adversely impacted recycling rates in any way. 41 There is an issue of fees. According to UNC's School of Gowernnnent, the county is 42 legally required to allow households to"opt out"of paying the curbside collection fee of$38 a 43 year. We can't say how many people would opt out of the fee or how that impacts the 44 economics of the program. In the interests of transparency, we hope you'll explore those 45 economics further. 46 We realize that the county is facing difficult economic issues with all aspects of trash 47 and recycling. One thing is nertain, rural residents care about recycling; and even though 48 thousands already opt out of rural curbside recycling pnogranm, they recycle heavily and 49 contribution to county's waste reduction results. 50 Thank you.