Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
4 <br />Discussion <br />Ordinance on Regulated Recyclable Waste Materials <br />Staff has developed a draft ordinance that mandates source-sepazation of recyclable <br />materials, licenses haulers of those materials and prohibits burning of solid waste. A <br />memorandum from the County Attorney and a copy of the ordinance are attached. <br />The ordinance (attachment #1) states that those regulated recyclable materials must be <br />separated at the point of generation, which is typically a construction or demolition site. <br />There are provisions for licensing haulers and for requiring permits and plans for certain <br />construction projects. Additionally, when and if loads of C&D waste reach Orange <br />County's landfill, they must meet the separation requirements applying to wood, metal, <br />drywall and other regulated recyclable materials Penalties include revocation of licenses <br />and civil /criminal remedies. <br />Construction and Demolition Waste Composition and Potential Diversion Impact on <br />Waste Reduction Goals <br />The readily recyclable fraction of unpainted, untreated solid wood, pallets, 'unpainted <br />drywall, inert debris and scrap metal, excluding reusable furniture and other goods, is <br />estimated at 60% of the 31,000 tons landfilled annually or 18,700 tons per yeaz. Without <br />inert debris, the potentially recyclable fraction is 28% or 8,600 tons. (NOTE: Inert Debris <br />estimates average includes shingles. in some calculations. If shingles are removed, <br />estimated at 10% of C&D) then estimate falls from 70% to 60%.) Tf reliable long-term <br />mazkets aze developed for roofing shingles and carpeting the potentially recyclable <br />fraction could rise another 12% to 72% of total waste. (Table 1, next page). <br />Nat all of the recyclable fraction would be easily recoverable. We estimate that in a <br />mature recycling and waste reduction program, about 90% of the readily recyclable <br />fraction could be recovered or 7,800 tons, without inert debris. (Four yeazs after <br />implementing .the landfill ban on non-residential recyclable com~gated cardboard, aver <br />95% of that corrugated cardboard is now removed from the MSW waste stream <br />according to the most recent waste sort data) According to the State of North Carolina <br />that potentially recyclable fraction represents $ percent of the 97,299 tons of total waste <br />recorded. as having been disposed from Orange County in 1998-99. if this additional <br />7,800 tons of recyclable waste had been recycled or otherwise diverted from landfilling <br />during that year, Orange County's measured waste reduction percentage would have <br />increased to 40% from 34% when compared to the base yeaz of 1991-92. Our goal for <br />2001 is 45% waste reduction per capita. <br />4 <br />