Agenda - 06-18-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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8 1 be on energy beneath our feet. She said the focus should be on what seeds can be planted to 2 benefit the system as a whole. She said food is important in this system. She said that there is 3 a need for large purchasers of food to source locally. 4 She said the county needs to support sustainable farmers. She said the county has 5 everything needed to create a strong healthy local food economy. She said that food can be 6 grown easily, and promotion of this can be done quickly and efficiently by amending the local 7 soil with compost. She noted that, for every one percent of organic matter, the soil can hold 8 nearly 17,000 gallons of plant available water. She said there needs to be discussion of how to 9 benefit from the resources already in place. She said that Orange County has an excellent 10 start on recycling and composting and proper use of resources is essential in moving forward. 11 She said that a good step forward would be to include waste generators into the conversation, 12 and to educate these generators on how to reduce waste and increase landfill diversion 13 success. 14 Loren Hintz urged commissioners to support current recycling programs. He said the 15 county needs to continue to recycle and he believed the best way to do this is to implement the 16 tax service district. 17 Margaret Cannel) is a rural curbside recycler and the Director of the Hillsborough 18 Chamber of Commerce, and she commended the Board of County Commissioners for their 19 recycling program. She encouraged the Board to provide curbside recycling. She said the 20 pending closure of the landfill makes it important not to produce more trash. 21 She said that the Chamber of Commerce has put on Hog Day for the past 10 years and 22 was able to divert 80% of the waste from this event last year. She said this is because of the 23 stellar work of the solid waste staff. She said hoped the Board will work toward an option that 24 includes the county and the towns and she offered the support of her chamber. 25 Tom Linden lives in unincorporated Orange County. He noted that the current system is 26 award winning, and the issue is how to continue that. He feels the best way is to create a solid 27 waste tax service district that could be expanded as unincorporated areas become more 28 populated and require services. He said they have a system they clearly works and he is 29 pleased that the discussion is around funding the continuation of this. He feels that the solution 30 should include the towns. 31 David Laudicina lives in a rural curbside recycling area. He said he hopes that the 32 Board's decision will make fairness and equity a top priority. He said that everyone receives the 33 same services and he questioned why some should have to pay more than others for this. He 34 said he takes his trash to center every 7-9 days and he takes his recycling with him even 35 though he has curbside service. He feels that people should have the option to "opt out" of the 36 curbside recycling. 37 Diana Thom is a parent of a student at Phillips Middle School and the school is working 38 on a project to make 19 schools in CHCCS zero waste facilities. She said this is possible if the 39 county can continue to have the same education programs in solid waste and can continue its 40 recycling programs. She recognized Muriel Williman's contribution to these efforts. She feels 41 there should be a public compost site in the county. She feels that any recycling fees should be 42 flat, so as not to be an additional burden on the school district. 43 Wendy Smith lives in unincorporated Orange County and she does not have curbside 44 recycling. She said she supports the recycling program and the idea of keeping the 3-r fee 45 intact to keep current services and education intact. She said this county is the envy of the 46 other counties in the state and it would be a shame to lose any of the cohesive services offered. 47 She said the most important part is the community education and involvement around 48 reduction, reuse and recycling. She feels that having mom and pop collectors for recycling, but 49 she noted that this has been tried in the past and there was not good ethical oversight. She 50 said this resulted in recycling going into the trash. She said that transition will admittedly cause