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U2d 9 <br /> standpoint, university officials could use this argument to <br /> reject out-of-hand the possiblity of adapting the planned <br /> boilers to burn Orange County RDF. <br /> From a more constructive standpoint, this argument <br /> should compel Orange County and its neighbors to explore <br /> immediately the possibility of building a regional facilty <br /> that could produce clean RDF on a scale sufficient to supply <br /> local power plants with a reliable fuel source. <br /> Tri summary, the task force encourages further discussion <br /> with the University on the possibilty of waste-to-energy <br /> conversion at the school's new plant. Whether or not this <br /> option becomes reality, incineration would still only <br /> reduce, not eliminate the need for landfilling. The task <br /> force further recommends that the County develop simple, <br /> non-burn technologies that are available right now and, by <br /> comparison, far less expensive: direct reuse through <br /> salvage, recycling, converting certain wastes into compost <br /> and mulch, and producing salable RDF. <br /> Recycling <br /> Glass, paper and aluminum are the only materials <br /> recycled on any scale in Orange County, and they are handled <br /> by two major recycling operations: ECOS, Inc. , run by Larry <br /> Kehrer; and. local Boy Scout Troop 39, led by Jim Mackorell . <br /> During the calendar year 1986, ECOS and Troop 39 <br /> recycled approximately 600 tons of paper, glass and <br /> aluminum. Each organization managed what it did despite <br /> being underfunded, underpublicized and underutilized. <br /> Neither has received substantial financial support from <br /> local government, and both have realized net losses. <br /> Sunshares, a local self-reliance group that has been <br /> recycling in Durham since 1983, has received considerable <br /> support from the City of Durham and hopes after the next few <br /> years to be recycling 20 percent of Durham's total solid <br /> waste stream. This figure is typical of what many <br /> established recycling programs set for their goals. The 600 <br /> tons recycled by ECOS and Troop 39 in 1986 represent just <br /> 0.71 percent of the 84,500 tons buried by Orange County in <br /> 1986. To match Sunahares ambitious goal of 20-percent <br /> recycling, the amount of solid waste recycled in Orange <br /> County would have to increase 28-fold over last years' total <br /> to 16,800 tons, or 42 pounds per county resident. <br /> The Orange County Solid Waste Task Force has found <br /> serious financial problems with the programs now operating <br /> in Orange County, chief among these problems being that <br /> recycling is grossly underfunded (Appendix E, April 9) . In <br /> the spring of 1986, the OCSWTF forwarded to the governments <br /> of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Orange County a <br /> proposal to fund a county-wide pilot program. The initial <br /> funding, set at $130,000, was calculated to provide a <br /> central recycling center, handling and transportation <br /> equipment, seven drop-off sites, publicity, and <br /> administrative costs. These facilities and equipment would <br /> provide the basis for an expanded, comprehensive recycling <br />