Orange County News Releases - March/April 2003

Recycling of Old Telephone Boooks Accompanies Distribution of the New Ones - June 30, 2003
Orange County Landfill Closed Friday, July 4, Curbside Recycling will continue - June 27, 2003
Orange County Plans Major Rural Curbside Rcycling Route Changes and Additions July 1 - June 23, 2003
Orange County Landfill Now Offers Four Types of Mulch and Compost Products - June 9, 2003
Electronics, Computer and Television Recycling Now Available - May 29, 2003
Household Hazardous Waste Collections Now Four Days Per Week - May 28, 2003

For more information: Solid Waste at (919) 968-2788; or Gayle Wilson, (919) 968-2885, gwilson@co.orange.nc.us

Bell South has begun distribution of the new Chapel Hill area telephone books this week. Orange County Solid Waste Management Department reminds Orange County residents that old telephone directories may be recycled with newspapers in curbside collections, at apartment complexes, 24-hour Drop-Off Sites and Solid Waste Convenience Centers located throughout the county. Old phone books are recycled along with the newspaper to make new newsprint or other paper products.

Orange County Landfill Closed Friday, July 4 Curbside Recycling will continue

For more information: Solid Waste at (919) 968-2788; or Gayle Wilson, (919) 968-2885, gwilson@co.orange.nc.us

The Orange County Landfill will be closed Friday in honor of Independence Day. All other services at the landfill, including Hazardous Household Waste Collection and Electronics Recycling will also be closed. The landfill and all other services will reopen Saturday July 5 from 7:30am to noon.

Curbside recycling will take place as usual on July 4. The Solid Waste Management Department reminds program users who are collected on Fridays to have the bins out by 7am or put them out the night before.

The Orange County Solid Waste Convenience Centers will be closed Friday July 4 and reopen Saturday July 5 from 7am to 5pm.

Orange County Plans Major Rural Curbside Recycling Route Changes and Additions Beginning July 1

For more information: Solid Waste at (919) 968-2788; or Gayle Wilson, (919) 968-2885, gwilson@co.orange.nc.us

Beginning July 1, Orange County will introduce approximately 700 new homes to rural curbside recycling. Collection along new streets and neighborhoods will grow from 9,500 homes to 10,200, serving over 50 percent of the households in unincorporated Orange County.

The expansion will involve re-routing and a significant number of existing customers will see changes in collection days. Rob Taylor, Orange County's Recycling Program Supervisor said, "Collection days will change for about 1/3 of our customers due to changes in participation levels, the need to balance route size and to improve collection efficiency. Within the next week, households on rural curbside recycling routes will receive a new calendar card in the mail listing their curbside recycling collection days for July 2003 through June 2004. We urge those serviced by the rural curbside recycling program to check their calendar card carefully for their new recycling schedule, and to hold on to the card for reference throughout the year. "

The biweekly rural collection uses an orange bin to distinguish from the blue curbside bins of the in-town programs. Over 1,000 tons or 215 pounds average per household were recycled last year from this program.

Materials accepted at the curb include: newspapers, glossy magazines, telephone books, aluminum cans, steel cans, empty aerosol cans, glass bottles and jars, and plastic bottles. Orange County reminds residents to recycle by placing their bin at the roadside by 7a.m. on their collection day, separating papers either by placing them in paper bags or stacking them, crushing cans and plastic bottles, not using plastic bags to hold materials, and not blocking the mailbox.

For more information: Solid Waste at (919) 968-2788; or Gayle Wilson, (919) 968-2885, gwilson@co.orange.nc.us

The Solid Waste Management Department is now selling four earth products useful in gardens, landscaping, erosion control and building soil fertility at the Orange County Landfill, on Eubanks Road, in Chapel Hill. These products include yard waste mulch, decorative red mulch, decorative natural color mulch and Class A compost. All these products are available at the Landfill from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 7:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The Landfill staff will load these products into the customer's vehicle for free but the customer must provide a secured tarp for all loads entering and leaving the landfill.

The Landfill staff may be able to deliver loads of mulch 30 cubic yards or greater to accessible sites within Orange County and within ten miles of the landfill for a fee. Landfill personnel will review site access before agreeing to delivery and before setting the exact price. Minimum delivery cost is $54 for 30 or 40 cubic yards and $108 for 100 cubic yards, in addition to the cost of the mulch.

Yard waste mulch is $18.00 per three cubic yard scoop (about 1,700 pounds). This product is made from clean yard waste. It is ground, aged at least 60 days, which reduces the presence of bugs and viable weed seeds. Yard waste mulch is a good top dressing for gardens and landscapes and will reduce weed growth and retain moisture. It can be effective as an erosion control device in certain circumstances. Ask your county erosion control inspector when and where it is appropriate to use mulch for erosion control.

Red colored decorative mulch is $25.00 per cubic yard and comes from clean wood collected in the County's Construction and Demolition (C&D) program. This product is produced in part with wood collected in the County's wood waste recycling program. The red colorant is iron oxide, the same as rust and is not harmful to plants, pets, wildlife or humans. Decorative colored mulch is a low maintenance cover material that will reduce weed growth and retain moisture. It has a longer life than pine straw. Delivery is available for larger loads as above.

Natural color C&D wood chips is $18.00 per three cubic yard scoop. This mulch is also made from the clean wood collected in the County's C&D wood recycling program and is ground and run through a magnet, but not colored and that is why it is cheaper than the colored decorative mulch. It will last longer than pine straw but probably not as long as the colored decorative mulch product. It is also effective in controlling weeds and evaporation. Delivery is available for larger loads as above.

Class A compost, at $25.00 per cubic yard, is made in part using Orange County commercial food waste. This compost is graded at the highest quality in North Carolina's ranking system and is suitable for unrestricted use on crops, landscape plants, turf or ornamentals. Compost is typically blended with other soils to make custom mixes depending on the application, but the County does not offer those blends, only the plain compost. This compost is produced by a commercial composting firm and incorporates not only food waste, but also manure, wood chips, agricultural waste, and other organics. Customer delivery services can be arranged.

For more information: Solid Waste at (919) 968-2788; or Gayle Wilson, (919) 968-2885, recycling@co.orange.nc.us

Residents of Orange County can now recycle, at no cost, computers and peripherals, televisions, telephones, VCRs, stereos and other electronic equipment capable of voice and data transmission at the Orange County Landfill, located on Eubanks Road in Chapel Hill. Businesses and other non-residential entities can also recycle electronics, but must pay $6 per computer monitor or television. All other electronics from businesses and non-residential entities are accepted at no cost. Those businesses with more than 10 items should call 969-2072 for an appointment prior to delivery.

Citizens can recycle electronics at the Orange County landfill on Eubanks Road from 7am to 4pm Monday through Friday and 7:30am to noon on Saturdays.

Citizens who want to recycle their Pentium I (or higher) working computers can bring them to the PTA thrift shop at 103 Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro. All computers will be tested before acceptance. If you cannot wait for testing, you may pay a $10 drop off charge at the PTA. Please call 942-6565 for information on the recycling of these working computers.

Please contact Orange County Solid Waste Management, (919) 968-2788 or recycling@co.orange.nc.us for more information.

For more information: Solid Waste at (919) 968-2788; or Gayle Wilson, (919) 968-2885, recycling@co.orange.nc.us

The Household Hazardous Waste Collection is now open each week from Wednesday through Saturday at the Orange County Landfill, on Eubanks Road in Chapel Hill. The operating hours on Wednesday through Friday are 10:00am to 6:00pm and Saturdays from 7:30am to 12:00 noon. Residents will be able to drop off hazardous materials from their homes including paint, pesticides, cleaning chemicals and solvents.

The "Latex Paint Exchange" and "Reuse Shelf", where unwanted items in good condition are brought in to the collection site and are made available for free to the public, will initially not be operating with the new schedule. These areas will re-open later in the year.

For the past five years, the Household Hazardous Waste Collection program has operated only on the first Saturday of each month. Having the collection location open four days per week will be much more convenient to the citizens of Orange County. Just as importantly, operating the staffed site four days a week will be more cost efficient than the one-day events. As part of its expanded Toxicity Reduction Improvement Program (TRIP), Orange County hopes that citizens will take full advantage of the new extended hours, and will help divert hazardous chemicals away from the Orange County landfill. The new contractor ECOFLO, which is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, will staff the hazardous waste collection facility, and they will pack all incoming materials and will transport the materials for recycling, incineration, treatment or land filling.

Please contact Orange County Solid Waste Management, (919) 968-2788 or recycling@co.orange.nc.us for more information.