Minutes 04-23-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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recycling programs. She recognized Muriel Williman's contribution to these efforts. She feels there should be a public compost site in the county. She feels that any recycling fees should be flat, so as not to be an additional burden on the school district. Wendy Smith lives in unincorporated Orange County and she does not have curbside recycling. She said she supports the recycling program and the idea of keeping the 3-r fee intact to keep current services and education intact. She said this county is the envy of the other counties in the state and it would be a shame to lose any of the cohesive services offered. She said the most important part is the community education and involvement around reduction, reuse and recycling. She feels that having mom and pop collectors for recycling, but she noted that this has been tried in the past and there was not good ethical oversight. She said this resulted in recycling going into the trash. She said that transition will admittedly cause confusion and she agrees that solid waste tax districts should be considered as the county works toward a solid waste authority. Jessica Bollinger is the owner of the Efland Trash Service. She said that, with the landfill closing, small businesses like hers are facing difficult challenges. She noted that the only area to dump is in Durham and this option comes with high costs that could put small operations out of business. She said that there is currently a per-load dumping fee in Orange County, but this is not offered in Durham County, which doubles the fees and adds the cost of additional fuels. She proposed a solution of allowing small, hand-unload, companies to dump at the convenience centers with a special permit issued by the county. She noted that this has caused concern over convenience centers being classed as transfer stations but said the trash being dumped would only come from local residents who would have used the convenience centers anyway. She said this would also reduce the traffic to the centers. She expressed interest in a public/private partnership. Paul Rockwell lives in unincorporated Orange County and he agreed with what has been said so far. He lives on a limited income and would not want another tax imposed for recycling. He said he would not want to be forced to pay a fee for door to door pick up since he is handling his own recycling now. Cody Marshall is a Chapel Hill and Orange County resident, and said until last Friday he managed all of the recycling programs for Orange County. He said this program is a government function and should be managed by the public sector and paid for through public mandatory fees and/or taxes. He feels that a voluntary system is a bad idea as it hinders participation and increases fees for those who do participate. He said the authority is a great idea; however it does not fix the problem and does not address the financing. He feels that any decisions should involve the towns. He said he continues to hear that the tax is not the answer and he clarified that the rural, urban and multi-family fees would go away and be replaced by the tax, which would save money for many residents. He said that, despite reports of lower numbers, about 65% of eligible rural residents use the curbside recycling service, and this number is higher in some areas. He said that he also hears the statement that recycling in the town is already collected by private companies. He said that the county owns the material and the private companies offload the material at the Eubanks Road facility where it is processed, loaded and hauled by Orange County staff to the local market. He said this material is mixed with all other programs materials and this allows the county to realize top dollar to offset costs. He feels the county and towns should work together to provide as many options as possible, including convenience centers and curbside recycling to make recycling as easy as possible. Marilee McTigue lives in Bingham Township. She said that her home is one of 10 homes in a neighborhood that is on the County's recycling route. She said all ten homes pay for recycling but only 4 homes use it. This is due to the nature of the roads and driveways that make it impossible to get the recycling to the collection point. She said that the residents that