Carrboro Aldermen Consider Solid Waste Management Alternatives

The Carrboro representatives of the Solid Waste Advisory Board presented a progress report to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen on Tuesday concerning alterations to the solid waste management program.

The advisory board's recommendation is a possible key item for the Orange County Commissioners' Feb. 26 work session.

The board consists of representatives from the three towns that use the county's waste disposal services: Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. University representative B.J. Tipton also serves as a nonvoting member because the University does not receive the tax-funded disposal services from the county.

Orange County handles solid waste management in a different manner than most counties. The towns are responsible for waste collection, but the county disposes of the waste in its landfills.

The tipping fees Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough pay per ton of garbage disposed fund the county's disposal and recycling programs. This creates a catch-22 situation in which waste reduction efforts reduce profits available to fund recycling programs.

Disposal costs will increase when the county begins to export waste after the Eubanks Road landfill, created in 1995, reaches capacity, which the advisory board predicts will occur in 2009 or 2010.

The advisory board will present to the county commissioners its recommendation to secure a more stable source of funding for its services by following the model of the program in Prince William County, Va., said Jan Sassaman, chairman of the advisory board.

Instead of charging tipping fees, Prince William County charges availability fees per household or business, to be paid whether or not the customer takes advantage of the county's disposal services.

"We looked at a lot of different operations, some ideas of our own, historical ideas from the past, two or three counties out of state and other N.C. counties," Sassaman said. "Prince William County made the most sense because of its simplicity and its ability to fit to our unique situation (with the division of services between the county and municipalities)."

Increasing district or property taxes also were possibilities considered by the advisory board, said Philip Prete, Carrboro's environmental planner.

Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough all disposed of their waste in their own landfills until many of them reached capacity in 1972.

This caused the towns to band together and purchase the land for the Eubanks Road landfill, which was originally operated by Chapel Hill but jointly owned by all of the towns.

When new regulations increased the cost of running the landfill, the towns determined it would be more effectively administered by the county.

In April 2000, Orange County assumed the responsibility of running the landfill, and Chapel Hill pledged to use the facilities and pay the tipping fee.

Members of the Board of Aldermen raised concerns about the Prince William County model's lack of built-in incentives to reduce waste and increase recycling. The advisory board already has set a goal to increase recycling by 61 percent by 2010 or 2011.

Prete said the advisory board only recommends that the county seek to expand its recycling program rather than create a system of rewards or penalties. "The majority of the people in Orange County already seem to be willing to recycle," he said.

Because the towns themselves control waste collection, board members have discussed the possibility of charging a pay-as-you-throw unit-based fee, which would penalize customers disposing of large amounts of waste.

But Carrboro Mayor Mike Nelson said it will be at least a year before the board considers imposing such a fee.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.