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Chapter 4 <br />Process for Development of the Plan <br />Plan development in Orange County is an ongoing process. The process is complicated by the <br />fact that all four jurisdictions and UNC are interested in fashioning a fully integrated plan that <br />cooperatively incorporates all elements of solid waste management from waste reduction through <br />landfilling encompassing all the sectors of the economy in each jurisdiction. In November 2007, <br />Orange County decided to provide this interim plan document, which will still be overdue by two <br />years when approved and submitted. This interim submittal is far more descriptive than <br />prescriptive and serves primarily as an update. <br />The County remains the lead agency in the planning process. In 2005, they convened the Solid <br />Waste Plan Work Group (Work Group), which has functioned as the advisory group and <br />sounding board for the plan. The Work Group consists of an elected official from each of the <br />four jurisdictions, solid waste and sanitation staff from the jurisdictions led by Orange County's <br />Solid Waste Management staff and all members of the solid waste advisory board. The Work <br />Group has used the technical advisory services of Olver Inc. and its subcontractor RRSI to <br />provide technical analysis and recommendations on various plan elements over the past three <br />years. <br />Those plan elements evaluated by Olver and RRSI have focused primarily on the expansion and <br />further development of the recycling elements of the solid waste plan, secondarily on waste <br />management collection techniques. The evaluations and studies have included: <br />• overview of the various recycling programs and the potential to expand them to divert <br />enough materials to reach the County's waste reduction goal. <br />• evaluation of the option of the County's development of its own Materials Recovery <br />Facility compared to using the existing private MRFs in the region to market and process <br />materials collected in Orange County. <br />• detailed analysis of the dropoff and convenience centers and options for their future <br />constituted another element of the plan to determine the future role for this critical <br />segment of the solid waste management system. <br />• consideration of franchised collection of waste in the unincorporated areas of the county <br />• development of a detailed plan for transferring recyclables currently collected by the <br />County that might later grow to include recyclables from the urban curbside contractor as <br />well as those from UNC <br />• evaluation of options for commercial waste and recycling collection including the private <br />sector, public sector and various combinations under franchise and licensing agreements <br />• evaluation of the efficacy of franchising non-residential waste collection throughout <br />Orange County. <br />Ultimately, these elements will be decided on and knitted into an integrated plan along with a <br />fiscal analysis to determine how the needed expansions and changes could be financed. <br />Along with the collection components for solid waste and recycling, there is an important <br />disposal component to long-term solid waste planning. The County has decided to manage its <br />future MSW using a transfer station and contracting for disposal in anout-of-County landfill. It <br />24 <br />