Agenda - 04-15-2008-6d - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Disposal Options and Intergovernmental Cooperation. The County has determined that it will not build another MSW landfill in Orange County. There are an estimated three years of landfill life remaining at this point. The County has engaged in a process to site and develop a transfer station to consolidate locally generated MSW and send it to a remote landfill once the current County landfill is full. A site of 25 acres is sought that might accommodate compatible and related solid waste management uses. Orange County has sited and operates an unlined C&D landfill at the current location that is now predicted to last another 15 years or more. The County plans to continue managing recyclables, hazardous wastes, tires and yard waste at its current facility for the foreseeable future. There is a commitment to continue to reduce the amount of waste disposed by 61 % per person in an effort to conserve resources, protect the environment and save the remaining landfill space until a suitable alternative can be developed. The intergovernmental agreement, finalized in 1999 continues to operate and provide a strong fiscal and governance foundation for the solid waste operation. The four signatories to the agreement, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Orange County, as well as UNC, although it is not a signatory, have all pledged the waste under their control to an Orange County run facility. This pledge has stabilized the amount of waste coming to the landfill. The Town of Hillsborough contractually obligated its franchised non-residential hauler, Waste Industries, to deliver waste from Hillsborough to the County landfill. ITNC has similarly obligated its contract hauler to do the same despite offers of lower tipping fees by the contractor. to haul to its own transfer station. The Town and UNC receive recycling services as benefits. The Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro deliver waste.they collect to the landfill, but other private haulers operating in those jurisdictions are under no such obligation. Some of the waste they collect is delivered to Orange County, while some goes to other area transfer stations or landfills. Privately collected waste in the unincorporated areas is generally assumed to go elsewhere as there is no current obligation to bring it to Orange County. The Solid Waste Advisory Board consisting of eight formally appointed citizen members, two each selected by each of the four jurisdictions plus an ex-officio member from UNC, continues to offer policy guidance and comment on staff work. They also provide recommendations and ideas to the Board of Orange County Commissioners on solid waste matters. Each set of two SWAB members also periodically reports back to their respective jurisdictional elected bodies on matters affecting them such as the County's overall solid waste management plan. The Solid Waste Plan Work Group, an informal group was formed in 2005 to give direction to the long-term integrated solid waste plan. That group consisting of the SWAB, an elected official from each jurisdiction, LJNC representatives and solid waste staff from the four jurisdictions, provides recommendations and guidance on the specifics of the plan, as they are brought forth by staff and its technical advisors. The Work Group has played an integral role in plan development. As the Regulated Recyclable Materials Ordinance (lZRMO) and Solid Waste planning requirements have strengthened and matured over the past five years, each of the jurisdictions has adopted a formal means of informing the County of permitted construction or demolition projects within its boundaries. Through ordinance and formal agreements, the various jurisdictions now provide notification and allow plan review of new construction and demolition 22