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

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9 1 confusion and she agrees that solid waste tax districts should be considered as the county 2 works toward a solid waste authority. 3 Jessica Bollinger is the owner of the Efland Trash Service. She said that, with the 4 landfill closing, small businesses like hers are facing difficult challenges. She noted that the 5 only area to dump is in Durham and this option comes with high costs that could put small 6 operations out of business. She said that there is currently a per-load dumping fee in Orange 7 County, but this is not offered in Durham County, which doubles the fees and adds the cost of 8 additional fuels. She proposed a solution of allowing small, hand-unload, companies to dump 9 at the convenience centers with a special permit issued by the county. She noted that this has 10 caused concern over convenience centers being classed as transfer stations but said the trash 11 being dumped would only come from local residents who would have used the convenience 12 centers anyway. She said this would also reduce the traffic to the centers. She expressed 13 interest in a public/private partnership. 14 Paul Rockwell lives in unincorporated Orange County and he agreed with what has been 15 said so far. He lives on a limited income and would not want another tax imposed for recycling. 16 He said he would not want to be forced to pay a fee for door to door pick up since he is 17 handling his own recycling now. 18 Cody Marshall is a Chapel Hill and Orange County resident, and said until last Friday he 19 managed all of the recycling programs for Orange County. He said this program is a 20 government function and should be managed by the public sector and paid for through public 21 mandatory fees and/or taxes. He feels that a voluntary system is a bad idea as it hinders 22 participation and increases fees for those who do participate. He said the authority is a great 23 idea; however it does not fix the problem and does not address the financing. He feels that any 24 decisions should involve the towns. He said he continues to hear that the tax is not the answer 25 and he clarified that the rural, urban and multi-family fees would go away and be replaced by 26 the tax, which would save money for many residents. He said that, despite reports of lower 27 numbers, about 65% of eligible rural residents use the curbside recycling service, and this 28 number is higher in some areas. He said that he also hears the statement that recycling in the 29 town is already collected by private companies. He said that the county owns the material and 30 the private companies offload the material at the Eubanks Road facility where it is processed, 31 loaded and hauled by Orange County staff to the local market. He said this material is mixed 32 with all other programs materials and this allows the county to realize top dollar to offset costs. 33 He feels the county and towns should work together to provide as many options as possible, 34 including convenience centers and curbside recycling to make recycling as easy as possible. 35 Marilee McTigue lives in Bingham Township. She said that her home is one of 10 36 homes in a neighborhood that is on the County's recycling route. She said all ten homes pay 37 for recycling but only 4 homes use it. This is due to the nature of the roads and driveways that 38 make it impossible to get the recycling to the collection point. She said that the residents that 39 use it live on the first part of the road. She wishes that the costs for these services were more 40 transparent and she feels it is very confusing. She would like to opt out of curbside recycling 41 and she said she is not in favor of a district tax. She said any decisions on new taxes or fees 42 should be deferred until there is a more complete picture of the needed services, costs and 43 benefits. She said she does not understand why the consent agenda lists the approval of a 44 new$200,000 recycling truck when the decision about the recycling program has not been 45 made yet. 46 Bonnie Hauser read the following prepared statement on behalf of the Orange County 47 Voice: 48 First on behalf of Orange County Voice, we support the idea of a pilot task force to 49 demonstrate that small haulers can safely use the county convenience centers.