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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 08-30-2000 - 3ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: August 30, 2000 Action Agenda Item No. 3 SUBJECT: Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan -Approval of State Three-Year Plan Update DEPARTMENT: Solid Waste Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): 8/24/00 Staff Memo Proposed Resolution Please bring your copy of the .plan update previously delivered with the August 75 agenda packet. INFORMATION CONTACT: Gayle Wilson Solid Waste Management Director, 968-2885, gwilsonCa~co.orange.nc.us Blair Pollock, Solid Waste Programs Manager, 968-2788, bpollock@co.orange.nc.us TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To review and discuss the proposed statutorily required Orange County solid waste plan update for 2000, and to consider adopting a resolution approving the plan update for submission to the State. BACKGROUND: As required by North Carolina statute, in 1997, the County and municipal governing boards in Orange County approved and submitted to the State a set of waste reduction goals (45% per capita by 2001 and 61 % by 2006), along with a plan to achieve those goals. Submission of a three-year update is also required in 2000 in accordance with State law. The plan update was presented to the BOCC during a public hearing August 15, 2000. There were no speakers wishing to provide comments on the plan at the public hearing. The plan has been approved by the Town of Hillsborough and is scheduled for review by Chapel Hill on August 28 and by Carrboro on September 5. Staff recommends that the Board ask questions and provide comments about any needed changes in the plan at the August 30 work session, and consider adopting the attached resolution approving the plan's submission to the State, either at the work session or as part of the agenda for the September 5 regular BOCC meeting. If the Board wishes to make substantive changes to the plan later this year as plans for implementation of some of the major elements of the solid waste plan become clearer, staff can prepare another update for subsequent submission to the State. 2 FINANCIAL IMPACT: Approval of the plan update has no direct financial impact. However, plan implementation will involve significant costs that will be better defined as the Board makes decisions about which elements of the plan to carry out, and when. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board discuss the solid waste plan update, provide direction to staff on any needed, changes, and adopt the attached resolution to approve the updated plan for submission to the State. MEMORANDUM To: John Link, County Manager From: Gayle Wilson, Solid Waste Management Director Subject: Adoption ofi Solid Waste Plan Update 2000 Date: August 24, 2000 The Board of Orange County Commissioners received a draft copy of the solid waste plan update at the business meeting on August 15 when a public hearing was also held on this matter. No citizens spoke at the public hearing. Thus, to date there has been no additional comment on the draft plan. Staff submitted this draft plan update to the State in late June, in recognition of the requirement that each County provide a three year solid waste plan update by June 30, 2000. We explained to the State Solid Waste staff that we expected to submit the approved plan later this summer, following conduct of the required public meeting and scheduling of plan update approval by all municipal governing boards. A resolution similar to the resolution proposed for adoption by the BOCC was adopted by the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners in approving the plan update on July 10, 2000. Approval resolutions are scheduled for consideration by the Town of Chapel Hill on August 28, 2000 and by the Town of Carrboro on September 5, 2000. As noted in the Board's agenda materials for their August 15 meeting, the framework and major elements of this proposed solid waste plan update are identical to those approved in June 1997. The updated version of the plan contains the original waste reduction goals of 45% per capita by 2001 and 61 % per capita by 2006. The adopted plan framework calls for a materials recovery facility to process recyclables, expanded commercial recycling, increased materials collection and a combination of incentives to increase waste diversion. We expect that the BOCC and the new Solid Waste Advisory Board intend to more thoroughly and fully consider the update for the solid waste plan for Orange County in the months ahead. It is likely that some changes to the goals and the methods for achieving those goals will be considered. The State statute recognizes that individual governments may wish to reconsider their plan and goals periodically -thus, the statute allows for interim updates while requiring three-year updates. ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A RESOLUTION RE-AFFIRMING THE ADOPTED FRAMEWORK FOR ACOUNTY-WIDE SOLID WASTE PLAN, SPECIFYING PERCENTAGES IN PER CAPITA WASTE REDUCTION GOALS AND AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY MANAGER TO SUBMIT THE SOLID WASTE PLAN TO THE STATE. WHEREAS Orange County adopted in 1997 a general waste reduction plan framework as part of its overall solid waste goals and also adopted specific waste reduction goals of 45% per capita by 2001 and 61 % per capita by 2006, and WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina requires a solid waste management plan with specific solid waste reduction goals for 2001 and 2006, and an update to those goals and plan every three years, and WHEREAS, the County actively participates in the County-wide waste reduction programs through promotion of dropoff and curbside recycling and provision of other recycling services, and WHEREAS, the County has previously adopted a solid waste management plan-framework that includes waste prevention measures, collection programs, and processing methods described in attachment A to this resolution, and WHEREAS, successful implementation of a solid waste plan that meets the waste reduction goals would also require cooperation and coordination with all the other local governments in the County and other waste generators throughout Orange County, and WHEREAS, Orange County may need to further regulate and control solid waste in order to fully accomplish the waste diversion goals; NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Orange County Board of ,Commissioners that it hereby reaffirms the framework and goals for a solid waste management plan as adopted originally in 1997 and shown in attachment A, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Orange County continues to use a base year of 1991-92 to calculate waste reduction against, and County-wide goals of 45% solid waste reduction per capita by 2001 and 61 % reduction per capita by 2006, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Orange. County will continue to cooperate with other local governments in Orange County in implementing a solid waste management plan that will achieve these goals, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners authorizes the County Manager to submit the solid waste plan to the State. This, the 30th day of August, 2000. 5 Attachment A Solid Waste Plan Framework for Orange County, North Carolina The waste reduction plan framework for mixed solid waste includes: Waste prevention: [The first three items below can be considered by County Solid Waste Management Department through Orange Community Recycling. The last two -- mandatory recycling and volume-based solid waste costs -could be enacted by the individual local governments only.] 1. Public education -- increases in the amount, type and targeted audiences. 2. Differential landfill fees -- we have these in place now for yard waste, clean wood waste and corrugated cardboard. Higher or lower fees could be applied. to other materials to encourage their diversion from the landfill in favor of some type of separation. 3. Non-economic incentives -- this includes all the other strategies for influencing waste reduction such as the solid waste plans now required for new, non-residential construction in Chapel Hill. 4. Mandatory recycling -- also known as collection bans, individual governments could apply a variety of bans in each sector -- residential, commercial or apartments. Some enforcement would be necessary for success. 5. Volume-based fees -- also known as pay-per-throw, treats solid Waste as a utility. Under this approach, local governments. would set up a system of user fees under which residents and businesses would pay for varying amounts of garbage collected. A proper fee structure with good enforcement has proven to reduce waste in many other communities. RecyclablesCollection: The original plan framework includes recommendation of weekly universal recycling collection in incorporated areas for residential, commercial and apartments and also for commercial recycling in unincorporated areas. For the unincorporated areas, the County recommends continuation of biweekly curbside recycling in the relatively densely settled subdivisions, combined with the system of sanitation sites such as now exist for solid waste and recycling collection. Currently, there is. no universal commercial recycling. That would be the biggest single new collection expense; it would also have the greatest potential for increasing recycling. 6 Solid waste collection and management would continue to be under local government control. It is possible that large increases in recycling may reduce the need for solid waste collection so the local governments may save on collection costs as the rate of waste generation goes down. , Processing: If the amount and types of recyclables is increased significantly to reach the overa1161% reduction goal by 2006, then Orange County would need a processing facility to sort out the recyclables and make them market-ready. Collection at the curb or business is, in some ways, the easiest part of the recycling cycle. Processing, sale and reuse are more challenging, since that is where the real "business" of recycling is. Sorting and processing are especially important if we are ever to achieve along-term stable market for mixed paper. The waste plan framework for construction and demolition waste Construction waste makes up approximately one- third of the material we landfill. As, much as 70% of this type of waste is recyclable as wood products, scrap metal, construction rock and dirt products. Most of our recycling efforts have concentrated on the other two-thirds of our waste but there is enormous potential in the construction waste sector. For 2001, the Owners Group has recommended a 20% reduction goal in this sector as part of the overall goal of 45% for all sectors by 2001. We believe that goal could be achieved with a construction materials salvage operation at the landfill and an , enforceable solid waste plan requirement for new construction or major renovations and demolitions in all jurisdictions. The County will be considering such an ordinance this year. To help meet the overa1161% reduction goal by 2006, waste in this sector must be reduced 58% by 2006, some type of sorting facility would be required to separate and process recyclable materials from mixed construction wastes.