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t <br />SURVEY OF ORANGE COUNTY SOLID <br />WASTE CONVENIENCE CENTER USERS <br />FEBRUARY 25, 2015 <br />FXFC I ITIVF Sl1MKA <br />Orange County Solid Waste Management ( OCSWM) contracted with the H.W. Odum Institute <br />for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill (Odum) to assist <br />with the design and analysis of a survey of users of the County's five Solid Waste Convenience <br />Centers (SWCCs). The primary purpose was to collect data with which to apportion the usage <br />of the SWCCs into two parts: usage by residents who live in the incorporated areas of the <br />county, and usage by residents who live outside the incorporated areas. Other information <br />regarding recycling behavior and preferences was also collected. Odum statisticians worked <br />with OCSWM staff to devise a sampling and data collection plan to provide a "snapshot" view of <br />SWCC usage over a one week period for each site. OCSWM staff entered data from the <br />collected surveys into an application provided by the Odum Institute, and Odum statisticians <br />analyzed the data and wrote the report. <br />Across all days and sites, 89% of SWCC uses during the data collection period were made by <br />customers who live outside town limits and 11% by customers residing within town limits. <br />Eubanks Road SWCC received 30% of its uses by in -town residents. The other four SWCCs were <br />used almost exclusively by residents outside town limits, with 4% or less attributable to in -town <br />customers. <br />Forty -eight percent of surveyed customers reported having access to curbside recycling <br />services. Of these, 51% were nonetheless recycling at the SWCC the day they were surveyed, <br />most often because they were coming to the SWCC anyway to drop off trash or other items. Of <br />the customers who reported not having access to curbside recycling, 62% indicated that if they <br />did have it, they would use it. For both groups, reasons for not using (or wanting) curbside <br />recycling primarily had to do with the SWCC being more convenient, often because they have <br />to drop off trash anyway or because they have a long driveway or other reason that <br />maneuvering recyclables to the curb is difficult. <br />Thirty -two percent of surveyed customers report using a SWCC more than once a week, and <br />39% do so about once a week, meaning that (taking into account rounding) nearly 72% of SWCC <br />customers visit at least weekly. <br />11 <br />