Agenda - 05-04-1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 01 Established by the Orange Board of Commissioners, the Orange County Solid Waste Task Force first met in February, 1985, and at that time assumed the following three charges: 1) To examine the operations of this county's current landfill and their the environmental impacts; 2) To study state-of-the-art technologies in solid waste disposal, focusing on alternatives to landfilling; and 3) To review and promote recycling efforts in the county, in hopes of diverting part of the waste stream now filling the current landfill site. In late February, 1984, Orange County and the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro jointly purchased 169 acres of mid- county land for $608,400. This acreage, commonly known as the "Greene Tract", lies just southeast of the currently operating Orange County Regional Landfill, and local officials apparently intend it to become the County's next solid waste disposal site, once the current landfill reaches capacity. County residents living near the proposed site have vehemently protested these plans. Their protests played a significant role in prompting local officials to establish this task force, and subsequently, ensured that the task force adopted a fourth charge: 4) To invent a process that the County can use to determine whether a parcel of land is suitable for development as a landfill site, and to encourage the County to use this process in identifying alternatives to the Greene Tract. This report contains the findings and recommendations made by the task force in its meetings starting November, 1984, and ending November, 1986. Appendices at the end of this report contain most of the surveys, reports and minutes used as the bases for these recommendations. Landfill Operations at the Current Site The residents, businesses and municipal services of Orange County now dump the majority of their solid waste at the 201-acre Orange Regional Sanitary Landfill, a facility. owned jointly by Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County. By informal contract, Chapel Hill provides machinery, manpower and expertise required to monitor and bury incoming waste. The regional landfill is located just north of Chapel Hill town limits and just west of the Eubanks Road intersection with Route 86. Its 201 total acres straddle Eubanks Road, with 122 acres lying north of Eubanks and 79 acres lying south. The site's northern 122 acres have been under development since the landfill's opening.