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<br /> <br /> 1 <br />Orange County <br />Commission for the Environment <br /> <br />Meeting Summary <br /> <br />February 9, 2015 <br />Orange County Solid Waste Administration Building, Chapel Hill <br />_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />PRESENT: Jan Sassaman (Chair), May Becker, Peter Cada, Tom Eisenhart, Loren Hintz, David <br />Neal, Bill Newby, Jeanette O’Connor, Sheila Thomas-Ambat, Lydia Wegman, and David Welch <br /> <br />ABSENT: Donna Lee Jones, Rebecca Ray, Gary Saunders <br /> <br />STAFF: Rich Shaw, Tom Davis, Brennan Bouma, David Stancil <br /> <br />GUESTS: Penny Rich (County Commissioner), Eric Gerringer, Muriel Williman, Lynne Gronback <br />_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />I. Call to Order – Sassaman called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm. <br /> <br />II. Ad ditions or Changes to Agenda – Sassaman changed the order of Items III and IV. <br /> <br />IV. Welcome New Member – Sassaman introduced two guests: Commissioner Penny Rich <br />and Lynne Gronback, science teacher at Cedar Ridge High School. Sassaman then <br />welcomed Tom Eisenhart to the commission. Eisenhart said he is a Ph.D. candidate in <br />the Department of Chemistry at UNC, but his educational background includes studies in <br />both the technical and social science aspects of sustainability. He served on the <br />Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee at UNC. <br /> <br />III. Minutes – Sassaman asked for comments on the January 12 meeting summary. <br />O’Connor motioned to approve; seconded by Wegman. Approved unanimously. <br /> <br />V. Composting of Food Waste – Sassaman introduced Eric Gerringer and Muriel <br />Williman—both with the Orange County Solid Waste Management Department. <br />Gerringer provided an overview of the County’s Recycling Program, including recent <br />enhancements to the urban and rural curbside recycling. He described current efforts to <br />compost commercial and residential food waste. The collection of commercial food <br />waste from 35 sites (mostly restaurants and grocery stores) is handled by Brooks <br />Contracting. Participants must produce at least one ton per month. Three new sites were <br />added in the past year. Gerringer said 1,500 tons of food waste and other compostable <br />organic matter is diverted from the landfill disposal each year. He said residential <br />collection is currently available at the Walnut Grove convenience center, and in 2016 <br />collection will also be available at the Eubanks Road facility. <br /> <br /> Wegman asked what problems are there with the commercial program, and requested a <br />list of participants. Gerringer said there is contamination of the food waste, which <br />requires education and monitoring for quality control. Thomas-Ambat asked how <br />contaminants are removed. Gerringer said plastics, foil and other materials are removed <br />upon inspection. He said he will provide a list of participants in the program. <br /> <br />Becker noted that the CFE had sent a resolution of its support for expanding the food <br />waste collection and composting to the BOCC, and hoped something would result from <br />that action. Gerringer said the program is fully funded at the present time; there is room