Latest News
- April Edition of the Orange County Solid Waste Management Monthly Electronic Newsletter. View it here! You can sign up for our monthly list-serv by registering on this page
- NEW! The semi-annual "Waste Matters" published in November 2011. View it here!
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Outdoor Compost Bins are available for sale at the Orange County Solid Waste Management office, 1207 Eubanks Rd. Chapel Hill. They are $50 each, cash or check only please, Monday-Friday 8-5. To learn more about the "Earth Machine" outdoor composting unit that we sell, visit www.earthmachine.com.
- Orange County decided on December 7, 2009 to not site a Solid Waste Transfer Station in Orange County of its own at this time.
Click here for more information on the Transfer Station Site search process.
Memorial Day Schedule for Recycling, Landfill and Solid Waste Convenience Centers in Orange County
Curbside recycling will be collected on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, 2012 as regularly scheduled. If this is your normal recycling day, have your bins at the curb by 7:00 am or put them out the night before.
The Orange County Landfill will be closed on Monday, May 28 in observance of Memorial Day. All services associated with the landfill such as the household hazardous waste collection and mulch sales will also be closed. All landfill services will resume normal hours of operation on Tuesday, May 29.
The Solid Waste Convenience Centers located at Eubanks Rd. and Walnut Grove Church Rd. will be closed Monday May 28 in observance of Memorial Day. The other three centers are normally closed on Mondays. Normal hours will resume Tuesday May 29.
The Orange County Solid Waste Management Administrative office will be closed May 28 in observance of Memorial Day.
County Removed Plastics Recycling Dumpsters from Recycling Drop Off Sites November 1st 2011.
Due to excessive contamination levels, sometimes exceeding fifty percent, Orange County Solid Waste Management will permanently remove the large purple roll-off dumpsters for recycling rigid plastics from four unstaffed recycling sites on November 1. Banners have been placed at each site stating that the rigid plastic containers will be removed. All other recycling collection containers will remain at the unstaffed sites.
The purple dumpsters for recycling resin types #2, #4 and #5 cups, tubs, buckets, pipe, lawn furniture and other non-bottle plastics will remain at the five staffed convenience center sites along with all other current recycling and trash services.
Orange County has been collecting the non-bottle rigid plastics for recycling from both staffed convenience center sites and unstaffed recycling sites since February 2010 and averages about 13 tons per month incoming material, of which about nine tons of which are suitable for sale. This is the highest rate of contamination from any public recycling program. The contaminants must be manually sorted by County staff and landfilled before the good material can be sent to market.
Only about 10% of the material in purple dumpsters from staffed sites is contaminants. The majority of contaminants come from the four unstaffed sites at Carrboro Plaza, Cedar Falls Park, Meadowmont and University Mall. The dumpster at the Hampton Pointe recycling site behind Home Depot in Hillsborough was removed a year ago for excessive contamination, but contamination at the other four sites did not improve even with extensive public education.
Since the County established this program ongoing efforts have been made to educate the public about the proper materials including placement of high quality signage, extensive paid advertising, articles in local papers, shows on local radio and two major efforts staffing the usually unstaffed drop-off sites with temporary personnel to educate site users.
Rigid plastics #2 (HDPE), #4 (LDPE) and #5 (PP) for which there is a reliable, regional market that Orange County sells to include items such as five gallon buckets, kitty litter buckets, plastic storage totes, plastic lawn furniture, black pipe, and kiddie pools. These items are not recycled when put in curbside recycling bins with cans and bottles, only when kept separate and brought to the staffed Solid Waste Convenience Centers. See the County web page for a full list of acceptable plastics in the purple bins: www.co.orange.nc.us/recycling/rigidplastics.asp to request a pictorial brochure.
Solid Waste Convenience Center Hours will Change Beginning October 3
Beginning Monday October 3, the hours of operation at all five County Solid Waste Convenience Centers will change. The new hours are in response to requests by citizens to expand weekend hours of operation. A table of the new hours is shown below for easy reference.
Hours of Operation for Orange County Solid Waste Convenience Centers
Location |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Bradshaw Quarry Rd. |
CLOSED |
7am-6pm |
CLOSED |
CLOSED |
7am-6pm |
7am-5pm |
1pm-6pm |
Ferguson Rd. |
CLOSED |
7am-6pm |
CLOSED |
CLOSED |
7am-6pm |
7am-5pm |
1pm-6pm |
High Rock Rd. |
CLOSED |
7am-6pm |
CLOSED |
CLOSED |
7am-6pm |
7am-5pm |
1pm-6pm |
Eubanks Rd. |
7am-6pm |
7am-6pm |
CLOSED |
CLOSED |
7am-6pm |
7am-5pm |
1pm-6pm |
Walnut Grove Church Rd. |
7am-6pm |
7am-6pm |
CLOSED |
CLOSED |
7am-6pm |
7am-5pm |
1pm-6pm |
The changes in hours reflect the request by users of the sites for re-opening on Sunday so people working weekdays could more conveniently get to the sites. All centers will be closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and all centers will be open Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Only the convenience centers at Eubanks Road and Walnut Grove Church Road will be open on Mondays. The Monday closing of Ferguson Road and High Rock Road sites was to accommodate the other expansions of hours while limiting new staffing expenses. The Bradshaw site was already closed on Mondays.
Other Solid Waste Convenience Center news includes the improvements slated for the Walnut Grove Church Road Convenience Center later this fiscal year. Improvements will include paving the site, expanding it to improve traffic flow, installing compactors with lower loading height, creating a two-tiered unloading area for heavy and bulky items to improve accessibility, adding recycling collections for cooking oil, food waste and plastic film, and a household hazardous waste collection center. This set of improvements will be designed and permitted this fall, with work beginning in the spring of 2012 weather permitting.
Improvements to the other four sites may follow in future years pending approval by the Board of Commissioners and available funding.
Orange County Leads North Carolina with 56% Waste Reduction, Highest in County History
The recently released State of North Carolina Solid Waste and Materials Management Report shows that Orange County landfilled an average of 0.60 tons per person per year or 3.3 pounds per day in Fiscal Year 2009-2010, a reduction of 56% compared to the 1991-92 base year of measurement when it was 1.36 tons per person annually or 7.5 pounds per day. That is the best waste reduction rate in the state for last fiscal year and the County’s best ever since measurement began in 1996.
In 1997, the County and the three towns all adopted a waste reduction goal of 61% per capita and have made steady progress towards that goal ever since. In 2008-09 the waste reduction rate was 54%. In 2007-08 it was 50%. This rate is measured by dividing all the tons of waste reported as originating from Orange County, regardless of where they were landfilled, by the County population that year. Annually the State compiles solid waste data on all 100 counties and includes the waste reduction rates in its report along with data on recycling, waste management, state-wide landfill capacity and other solid waste information.
Orange County Solid Waste Management Director, Gayle Wilson says, “Orange County and the towns’ long-term, unwavering commitment to waste reduction and increased recycling has paid off. Our residents have a strong waste reduction ethic and our broad array of recycling programs and services are second to none. The recycled materials we send to market are top quality thanks to our participants’ diligence and continuous ongoing public education. As an indication of the overall direction of County policy, almost all large local public events now feature recycling and composting instead of disposal. Consequently waste disposal rates at large publicly sponsored fairs and festivals are often less than 10% of the total waste volume produced.
North Carolina Electronics Ban in effect July 1, 2011; Electronics recycling details for Orange County.
Computer equipment and televisions will be banned from disposal in North Carolina landfills as of July 1, 2011, as required by NC Session Law 2010-67 passed last year by the General Assembly. As of July 1, televisions, computers and computer equipment such as laptops, desktops, monitors, printers, scanners, and peripherals such as mice and keyboards cannot go in the trash or be disposed in any NC landfill.
Orange County residents can recycle their electronics at all 5 of the Solid Waste Convenience Centers located throughout the county, during hours of operation. Visit www.co.orange.nc.us/recycling/centers.asp for details.
Orange County residents, businesses, and other non-residential entities can recycle their electronics at the Orange County Landfill, 1514 Eubanks Rd. in Chapel Hill, Monday- Friday from 7:30a.m.-4:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Please call ahead to make an appointment for large loads so we can process those right away.
Collected electronic items include any audio or visual data carrying devices such as computers, monitors, mice, keyboards, televisions, IPods, scanners, printers, speakers, cables, copiers, cell phones, telephones, stereos, fax machines, CD and DVD players, cassette players, VCRs and electronic media such as cassette and VHS tapes, CD’s, DVD’s, and their cases. Look for the black trailers labeled “Electronic Recycling”.
Orange County has been providing residents with electronics recycling since 2002. Orange County will recycle close to 1,000,000 pounds of electronics this fiscal year. That is approximately 11 tons per week, or 8 pounds per person, per year. Orange County contracts with a North Carolina based electronics recycling firm called Synergy Recycling, LLC www.synergyrecycling.com. Synergy is certified with numerous environmental and employee health and safety standards, and their downstream markets are also certified to be environmentally sound and non-polluting.
Other components of the law are designed to create statewide recycling opportunities for discarded electronics and to place significant responsibilities on electronics manufacturers to help fund and create those opportunities. All computer manufacturers are required to offer at least a free mail-back program for their own equipment, and some will offer additional kinds of recycling options. A number of retailers also offer recycling of electronics, as do some nonprofit and charitable agencies. A comprehensive list of recycling options for residents and businesses in the state of North Carolina can be found at: http://www.p2pays.org/electronics/.
Student Move-out Waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycling Resources!
The end of April marks the end of the collegiate Spring semester. It’s time for the population in Chapel Hill to drop and for the number of available parking spots to rise. It is also time for a huge slug of move-out goodies to hit the landfill. Do your part to make move out less waste-full. Use the following guidelines to reduce waste, support local charities, and recycle as much as possible!
If you are interested in an end-of-year-move-out collection point at your apartment complex for clean, dry clothing, canned foods and usable household goods, contact our office and we will work with you to set up such a site and help provide publicity to your residents as they prepare to move out. Our office would provide a set of labeled, clean roll carts during the month of May. Your obligation would be to publicize the program, locate carts in a secure, dry area that is easily accessible for residents. Periodic policing will help ensure that the contents are usable and sanitary. Orange County Solid Waste would set these carts out the first week of May and pick them up the last week of May and bring the donated materials to various local charities. Let us know by Monday, April 25 if you would like a set of roll carts for clothing, canned goods and small household items.
Reusable furniture and other household items in good condition can be offered for reuse at “Salvage Sheds” located at four Solid Waste Convenience Centers. Used mattresses can NOT be left at Solid Waste Convenience Centers
- Eubanks Rd. (1 mile west of Hwy 86/ Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill),
- Ferguson Rd. (near intersection of Old Greensboro Highway, three miles west of Carrboro), and
- High Rock Rd. (1/4 mile west of Mill Creek Rd. in Efland).
- Walnut Grove Church Rd (1/4 mile east of Hwy 86, north of Hillsborough)
Solid Waste Convenience Centers have recycling collection for bottles, cans, jars, non-bottle plastics such as yogurt tubs and stadium cups, mixed paper, newspaper, magazines and corrugated cardboard. Recycle all batteries, motor oil, antifreeze, televisions, computers, cell phones and other electronic devices there too! Center hours for the above four locations are Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, 7am-6pm; Saturday 7am-5pm. (Closed Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sunday).
Electronics can also be recycled at the Orange County Landfill on Eubanks Rd. in Chapel Hill. Hours there are Monday – Friday 7am to 4pm and Saturday 7:30am to noon.
Clothing and household items in good condition can be donated to local charities and pick-up can be arranged for large loads.
- PTA Thrift Shop 103 Jones Ferry Rd., Carrboro, (919) 967-1272
- PTA Thrift Shop Village Plaza, S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill (919) 942-6101
- Club Nova Thrift Shop, 103-C West Main Street, Carrboro (919) 967-6985.
Furniture and appliances in good condition can be picked up by the Habitat for Humanity Hand-Me-Up store. Appliances must work and be less than 10 years old. Call (919) 403-8668 to schedule a collection if you can’t drop your items off at 5501 Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard
Durham, NC 27707
Donate unopened cans and boxes of non-perishable food items and unused personal care items to the Inter-Faith Council Food Pantry at 110 West Main Street in Carrboro, between 9-5 weekdays. If you need to make special arrangements for weekend drop-off, call them at 929-6380 ext. * 16. Unserved perishable food can be brought directly to the Community House Facility at 100 W. Rosemary St.
Styrofoam packing peanuts and bubble wrap should be brought to local packaging companies like “Pack It Ship It” at MidTown Market on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, or UPS packaging stores throughout the County. Packing materials should not be left at the recycling dropoff sites.
Metal cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles and jars and all clean, dry paper including, newspapers, phonebooks, envelopes, junk mail, class notes, can be recycled at all five of the 24-hour recycling drop-off sites. Plastic bottles are containers with a neck smaller than the base. Recycle non-bottle rigid plastics such as yogurt tubs and stadium cups separately in the purple dumpsters!
- Cedar Falls Park: Weaver Dairy Road
- University Mall: Mall parking lot behind the gas station on Estes Drive
- Carrboro Plaza: Behind ABC Store in southeast corner of the Plaza
- Meadowmont: Behind Harris Teeter (this is the least used site)
- Hampton Pointe Shopping Plaza: Hwy 86 in Hillsborough behind Home Depot
If the site is full, please take the recyclables to another site (usually Meadowmont site or Hampton Pointe site at Home Depot in Hillsborough are underutilized). Never ever leave plastic bags at a drop-off site. Take clean, dry empty plastic or paper bags to grocery stores to be recycled.
Hazardous Waste such as “CFL’s” (compact fluorescent lights), paint, hair spray, bug spray, drain cleaner and any flammable, toxic or corrosive liquids should be taken to the Hazardous Household Waste (HHW) Collection at the Orange County Landfill on Eubanks Road. HHW is open Monday through Friday 10am to 6pm and Saturday 7:30 am to noon.
Please contact our office if you have any move-out questions!
(919) 968-2788
Rigid Plastics Recycling Dumpster to be Removed from Hampton Pointe Recycling Site
As of November 12, 2010, the big purple dumpster for recycling the #2, #4 and #5 non-bottle rigid plastics will be removed from the recycling site behind Home Depot at the Hampton Pointe Shopping Center in Hillsborough. Due to ongoing contamination and illegal dumping of waste into that particular recycling container, the service will be discontinued. All other recycling services will remain at that site. Purple recycling dumpsters for recycling these non-bottle plastics will continue to be available at the other four unstaffed County recycling drop-off sites and the five Convenience Centers.
The County regrets removing the container for recycling these plastics. Those residents who wish to recycle cups, tubs, buckets, toys, lawn furniture and other plastic items #2 and #5 t may take them to one of the other nine locations where these materials are accepted.
Recycling programs manager Cody Marshall states, “This new plastics recycling program has been in place since last February. It’s been a public education challenge, but with rigorous outreach efforts, contamination and garbage going into the purple containers at all the sites have decreased to acceptable levels -- except the site behind Home Depot at Hampton Pointe. The purple dumpster at that site continues to collect more garbage than recyclable materials. It is unfortunately used for dumping everything from household waste and construction debris to large old televisions stripped of their copper wiring along with the proper plastics. We have not had this problem in any other containers at this site, or to this degree in the purple dumpsters at any other site, staffed or unstaffed. This level of illegal dumping is unacceptable. It is unsafe and costly for the County and, as much as we don’t want to do it, we believe that removing this container is the most effective way to solve the problem.” Any persons whose contaminating materials can be identified are notified and requested by County staff to collect and properly dispose their materials. They are also subject to civil penalties and potential criminal penalties.
Orange County is committed to providing a broad variety of recycling services easily accessible to as many residents as possible and the new program for #2 and #5 was added last winter after we identified reliable domestic markets. Users have enthusiastically embraced the program for non-bottle #2 and #5 rigid plastic items, even though it has been challenging to properly define and educate users to properly sort for this very specific grouping of plastic materials. For the most part, those using this program at dropoff sites have responded well. Contamination rates are well below 10% at staffed sites and have dropped to less than 25% at the unstaffed sites, except in Hillsborough. Incoming material to this program averages 15 tons a month. The contents of each container are dumped, and contaminants removed by Orange County recycling staff before being baled for shipment and sale to the recycling industry.
Vacancies on Orange County Solid Waste Advisory Board
One major way citizens can have a positive impact on the future of Orange County is to volunteer to serve on the various County advisory boards and commissions. With over 40 different boards and commissions, volunteers appointed by the Board of County Commissioners have an opportunity to influence the way of life in Orange County.
The Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) is a multi-jurisdictional advisory board that recommends programs, policies, changes in services, and other matters related to the operation of the Orange County Solid Waste System. SWAB investigates new technologies and furthers such missions and goals for the System as the County may adopt. It suggests amendments to the Solid Waste Management Plan and provides recommendations concerning any proposal for a change to rates, fees and charges; and provides advice to the County Manager for use in developing the annual budget for the System.
This Board consists of two members each from Orange County, Town of Carrboro, Town of Chapel Hill and the Town of Hillsborough, whose members are appointed by their respective jurisdiction. For more information about the SWAB, visit the SWAB webpage.
The County is currently looking for applicants for the SWAB board to represent Orange County. If interested, please apply at http://www.co.orange.nc.us/boards .
Select "Solid Waste Advisory Board" under "Boards and Commissions Listing" for additional information or call Donna Baker (919) 245-2130 or Jeanette Jones (919) 245-2125.
Orange County Now Accepts Oyster Shells at Landfill for Recycling
Any resident or business from Orange County may bring loads of separated oyster shells to the Orange County Landfill at no charge, for recycling. Collection will be allowed during only regular landfill operating hours, Monday- Friday 7am to 4pm and Saturday 7:30am to noon. Those bringing shells must go across the landfill scales. Shells will be returned to the North Carolina coastal waters by the State Division of Marine Fisheries to help rebuild the State’s oyster fisheries.
Those bringing oyster shells may be eligible for a tax credit of $1.00 per bushel where a bushel equals about 55 pounds of shells or about 8 gallons. Visit the Division of Marine Fisheries website or call 800-682-2632 for the details. Orange County Landfill scalehouse staff will provide the necessary weight receipt for claiming a tax credit for the shells. Clam, mussel or scallop shells may be included.
Orange County has instituted this program to help local businesses and residents comply with the State of North Carolina’s ban on the landfilling of oyster shells that became effective October 1st, 2009. The State implemented this disposal ban to prevent oyster shells from being discarded in landfills while there is heavy demand for oyster shells as material for building mounds or “oyster reefs”. This ban was in part a response to the declining oyster stock in North Carolina and in part to help the health of our costal brackish-water ecosystems by rebuilding oyster beds.
Christine Miller of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, an advocacy group promoting coastal water quality protection, says, “Oyster shells are baby oysters' preferred place to live, so recycling the shells is the best possible thing to do with them. It's good to see another inland county getting involved”. NC Division of Marine Fisheries Director Louis Daniel said he is pleased that the Oyster Shell Recycling Program continues to expand west of Interstate 95 adding, “It is our collective responsibility, as citizens of this state, to collect these shells and ensure that they are placed back into coastal waters to provide a place for oysters to attach and grow.” The NC Division of Marine Fisheries is the State agency responsible for operating the State’s Oyster Shell Recycling Program. Once Orange County landfill has accumulated a truck load (min. 17 cubic yards), the State will then collect the shells at no cost to the County and use them to reseed oyster beds at the coast in public waters, research areas and areas currently closed to fishing.
There has been demand for this service from the few large generators of oyster shells in Orange County including Tom Robinson Seafood and the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group. Greg Overbeck, co-owner of the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group that includes Squids Seafood restaurant said, “We’re very happy that Orange County is participating in this effort to rebuild North Carolina’s oyster beds and we really appreciate everything they’ve done to make this possible“. In addition to these large generators, smaller generators including Orange County households will have access to oyster shell recycling by delivering the shells to the Orange County Landfill’s oyster shell collection point.
Orange County collects plastics that are not bottles, #2, #4 and #5 to be recycled--
Drop-Off locations only!
Orange County now collects “rigid plastics”, which are defined as plastics that are not bottles and are limited to resin types High Density Polyethylene HDPE #2 and Polypropylene #5. As of February 1, 2010, bright purple dumpsters situated at Orange County 24-hour Recycling Drop-off Sites except for the site at Hampton Pointe and Solid Waste Convenience Centers will accept a broad range of plastic items including yogurt tubs and stadium cups, five gallon buckets, kitty litter buckets, milk crates, plastic trash cans, broken recycling bins, plant pots larger than one pint, plastic storage totes and their lids, plastic lawn furniture, kiddie pools, broken plastic sleds and other plastic toys.
Do not include: plastic bottles (recycle those separately at drop-off sites, at the curb, or apartment complexes), plastic bags (recycle these at local grocery stores), styrofoam, or #1 clear plastic clam-shell take-out containers and salad boxes (discard these in your regular trash), or any other plastics #1,#3,#6,#7. Rigid plastics must be clean, free of food residue and dirt.
Rigid plastics cannot be collected in the County’s curbside recycling program, or recycling cart sites at apartment complexes and businesses; they must be recycled at one of the drop-off locations only. Orange County Solid Waste Management will be taking rigid plastics to a different recycling market than the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) that currently accepts the County’s commingled bottles, cans and jars. These rigid plastics will be transformed into pipe, flower pots, buckets and other industrial or consumer goods.
The labor necessary to sort rigid plastics from other recyclables often outweighs their value, so we are asking residents to do the sorting at the drop-off sites. This will help the County receive the best value for the materials, and prevent what would be considered contamination from going to the MRF. There are an estimated 4,000 tons of plastics in the Orange County waste stream that are not bottles or plastic film. While not all of these plastics will be accepted by the Rigid Plastics Program, this program will expand the recycling opportunities available to Orange County citizens, further reduce the amount of material being buried in the Orange County Landfill and reduce fossil fuel consumption for new plastic products.
Landfill Permits will no longer be issued in Orange County, Effective July 27, 2009
As of July 27, 2009, free landfill permits will no longer be issued by Orange County. This includes the staffed Orange County Solid Waste Convenience Centers and the Solid Waste Administration office. Permits issued prior to that date must be used on or before July 25, 2009 as they will no longer be valid after that date. Permits may be used by only the party to whom they were issued.
Permits have historically been provided to residents that use the Solid Waste Convenience Centers for large loads that exceed Center capacity guidelines, multiple loads from one residence, and for materials that are not accepted at the Solid Waste Convenience Centers.
Residents can take large, multiple, or loads of materials not accepted at the centers to the Orange County Landfill and now must pay the associated cost. Pick-up truck loads (1,000 pounds or less) of mixed waste are $22 each. Vegetative waste/brush and clean, unpainted and untreated wood should be separated for recycling at reduced rates. Scrap metal and corrugated cardboard can be recycled at no charge. All loads must be tarped.
The Orange County Landfill is located at 1514 Eubanks Road, Chapel Hill (between NC Hwy 86 and Old Hwy 86). Hours of operation are Monday thru Friday 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 am to 12 noon.
Residents of the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, or Hillsborough may contact their respective Public Works Department for curbside collection policies and fee schedules.
- Town of Carrboro: 919-918-7425 or email: pworks@ci.carrboro.nc.us
- Town of Chapel Hill: 919-969-5100 or email: publicworks@townofchapelhill.org.
- Town of Hillsborough: 919-732-2104 ext. 222 or email: hillworkorders@ncrrbiz.com
Mattresses and box springs will no longer be accepted at Solid Waste Convenience Centers, effective July 27, 200
As of July 27, 2009, mattresses and box springs will no longer be accepted at staffed Orange County Solid Waste Convenience Centers. Orange County residents will need to bring mattresses and box springs directly to the Orange County Landfill, 1514 Eubanks Rd. in Chapel Hill (between NC Hwy 86 and Old Hwy 86) for a charge of $22 per pickup truck load. Other items may be included in the load to fill it up, not to exceed 1,000 pounds. Hours of operation are Monday thru Friday 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 am to 12 noon. All loads entering the landfill must be tarped.
The Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill will both collect these items at the curb from their residents for a fee. For more information contact Carrboro Public Works by phone: (919) 918-7425 or email: pworks@ci.carrboro.nc.us or if you live in Chapel Hill, contact Chapel Hill Public Works by phone: (919) 969-5100 or email: publicworks@townofchapelhill.org.
The Town of Hillsborough will collect these materials at the curb from their residents at no additional charge. Contact Hillsborough Public Works by phone 919-732-2104 Ext. 222 or via email to place a work order request: hillworkorders@ncrrbiz.com.
If you are replacing an old mattress and box spring with a new one, most companies when delivering the new mattress will remove and discard the old mattress and box spring at no additional charge for their customers.
Futon cushions will still be accepted at the Convenience Centers and should be placed in the appropriate container as directed by Convenience Center staff. Mattresses and box springs may not be left in the salvage sheds, nor are they an acceptable item for local charities. If you feel your mattress is still in good usable condition, consider posting it on www.freecycle.org on the Orange County, NC “freecycle” list.
Orange County wins 2009 American Forest and Paper Association Award for Best Community Paper Recycling Program
On May 5, the 2009 American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) Community Recycling Award was presented to Orange County, North Carolina. The annual awards recognize outstanding community, business, school, and college/university paper recycling programs across the country.
In 2008, the 128,000 residents of Orange County recovered approximately 8,750 tons of paper for recycling. This success resulted from a combination of education, outreach, and accessibility for residents. The county recycling program includes weekly curbside collection in urban areas; biweekly curbside for rural locations, multi-family units, drop-off sites, and government buildings; and collection from “park and ride” locations and city buses.
“We are pleased to recognize the success of the Orange County paper recycling program,” said AF&PA President and CEO Donna Harman. “Recycling is one of America’s great environmental success stories, providing ‘green jobs’ and giving new life to used products. Continued support of our existing infrastructure – and programs like the one in Orange County – is crucial to our ability to continue to meet global demand as the economy rebounds.”
Gayle Wilson, Orange County Solid Waste Director said, “Our program’s success is a little like the chasing arrows recycling symbol, “The public asks for a program, the Board provides funding and backing, the staff executes it and the public responds by recycling more. Each round of positive feedback encourages further program success.”
Rob Taylor, County Recycling Programs Manager adds, “Citizens consistently provide high quality recyclable paper to the County’s recycling programs. Our markets praise us and recognize that quality with the best pricing they can offer.’
Thanks to programs like this one and the efforts of millions of Americans, AF&PA recently announced a record-high 57.4 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling in 2008.
For a video and information about the 2009 AF&PA Recycling Award winners, along with how-to guides, interactive features, and additional resources related to paper recycling, visit www.paperrecycles.org.
AF&PA is the national trade association of the forest, paper, and wood products industry. representing companies and related associations that engage in or represent the manufacture of pulp, paper, paperboard, and wood products.
Residential Corrugated Cardboard Banned from Landfill Disposal beginning March 1
In an effort to preserve landfill space and conserve resources, residential and household corrugated cardboard is now banned from landfill disposal. Starting March 1, 2009 Orange County will begin enforcing the ban on disposal of residential corrugated cardboard at the Orange County Landfill, and will also prohibit collection of corrugated cardboard in any licensed waste-hauling vehicle.
Curbside corrugated cardboard recycling at the curb became available to all residents with curbside recycling in November 2008. There is a ten piece limit per set out and all boxes set at the curb must be emptied and completely flattened, and no pieces may be larger than three feet by three feet. Larger boxes or loads may be dropped off at recycling sites or the Orange County Landfill on Eubanks Road. Boxes set at the curb for recycling should be placed inside, under or between recycling bins. Do not stack near garbage carts. Empty pizza boxes, free of cheese, may be recycled, but they are not subject to the ban, so they may also be placed in the garbage cart if they contain excessive food contamination.
Commercially generated recyclable corrugated cardboard has previously been banned from collection and disposal as waste as part of the Regulated Recyclable Materials Ordinance which has now been extended to include residential cardboard. Extension of the ban to include residential corrugated cardboard will result in a total ban in Orange County on landfilling recyclable cardboard.
Beginning in 1996, the County banned landfilling of non-residential cardboard. In 2002 the ban was extended to include collection and hauling, and added the materials scrap metal and clean wood under the County’s “Regulated Recyclable Materials Ordinance”. The ban has been in effect at the Solid Waste Convenience Centers since 2003. This extension of the ban to curbside residential waste was enabled when curbside cardboard recycling collection was initiated in November 2008. Staff estimates this recycling collection expansion combined with the pending landfill ban will shift as much as 500 tons annually to the County’s recycling program.
Sanitation divisions in Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro have all been notified of the impending ban on disposal of residential cardboard. Harv Howard, Solid Waste-Fleet Maintenance Services Superintendent for the Town of Chapel Hill said, “Residents of Chapel Hill have been notified throughout December of the ban and been informed that they can recycle boxes at the curb or take them to the drop-off sites or convenience centers. The Town is no longer collecting garbage carts with recyclable cardboard in them.”
Loads of waste containing concentrations of more than ‘a large armload’ of cardboard will be subject to a double tipping fee penalty on the whole load. Haulers destined for disposal sites other than the Orange County Landfill will be subject to a series of escalating penalties if County inspectors find them in violation of the ordinance as they randomly spot-check waste containers collected by these haulers.