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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSWAG quick report 031412Quick Report FROM: Name of Advisory Board: Solid Waste Advisory Board SUBJECT: Monthly Meeting DATE: March 14, 2012 LOCATION: Sold Waste Administration Building 1207 Eubanks Road Chapel Hill ______________________________________________________________________ MEMBERS PRESENT: Jan Sassaman, Chair & Chapel Hill Rep., Remus Smith Hillsborough Rep. Jim Ward, Chapel Hill Rep, Steve Yuhasz County Board Liaison, BJ Tipton UNC ex-officio MEMBERS ABSENT: Al Vickers Carrboro Rep . STAFF PRESENT: Gayle Wilson, Blair Pollock, Mary Carlson, Cody Marshall, Paul Spire, Wendy Simmons (Chapel Hill Solid Waste Services Superintendent) VACANCIES: Carrboro (1), Hillsborough (1) and Orange County (2) _____________________________________________________________________ Beginning time of meeting: 7pm Old Business (if any) NONE New Business Topic A Approval of February 2012 minutes: Approved 3-0. Topic B: Follow-up from February 21 meeting of Board of Orange County Commissioners on Landfill Closure, Single-Stream, New Interlocal Agreement and Rogers Road Community Improvements Gayle Wilson described the discussion held by the Board of County Commissioners and their decisions on these topics as well as transferring waste to Durham City Transfer Station. • Landfill Closure: The BOCC has stated that the MSW landfill will close June 30, 2013 and subsequently they will use the Durham Transfer Station for at least the County-collected MSW. Commissioner Yuhasz noted that trucking waste to the Durham Transfer Station has always been considered an interim step until a better solution is created. There was further discussion of if the County’s regulated recyclables materials ordinance could or would be enforced at the Durham Transfer Station and how the various Towns might inform those violating the ordinance provisions keeping the banned materials from their disposal receptacles. • Single Stream recycling conversion to bins will take place in early 2012-13 but carts will not be used. A delay of previously planned roll- carts being used for the Urban Curbside Program was a result of the 2 Town of Chapel Hill comprehensive solid waste operations assessment taking place over the next few months. • New Interlocal Agreement: Steve Yuhasz stated there needs to be a new interlocal agreement in place to effectively govern any joint solid waste management issues including the conversion to single stream, but it must wait until Chapel Hill completes its study. He further indicated the County’s interest in continuing a cooperative arrangement with the Towns rather than each going it alone. • Rogers Road community improvements. According to the County attorney the improvements requested by the community that can be financed by the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund must be limited to provision of water supply and site clean-up. Other aspects of community improvement must be funded by a mechanism other than the Solid Waste Fund. An eight member Rogers Road Community Improvement Task Force have been established that to date include: Jim Ward and Penny Rich from the Town of Chapel Hill, Valerie Foushee and Pam Hemminger from Orange County Board and David Caldwell and Robert Campbell from the Rogers Road neighborhood. • Future of Alternative Technologies where Commissioner Yuhasz again mentioned that the SWAB could bring forward an assessment of alternative technologies in response to the BOCC’s request. A discussion of the process for that ensued including repopulating the SWAB so it had a large enough membership to take it on effectively and that there was money to obtain technical expertise. The more fundamental question posed by the SWAB is the nature of the work – is it conceptual about alternative technologies or specific to a particular technology (i.e. Entsorga) and what criteria are to be used to evaluate the technologies. • Wilson provided an update on the Walnut Grove site improvements and provided a timetable for construction that has it beginning June 1 and completion estimated in September. The Board decided to put a temporary recycling site at Cedar Grove Park for the duration of the construction. He indicated that the Capital Improvements budget for FY 12-13 included upgrades to the High Rock Road Convenience Center Site. • Pollock delivered a briefing on various definitions of the concept of zero waste compared to zero waste to landfills and explained the challenges of measuring the progress towards zero waste. He also told the SWAB the next Solid Waste Plan is due December 2013 so there will be time for them to work on plan development once the current issues have been resolved with the ILA and the Town of Chapel Hill’s involvement. Meeting adjourned 9:05 pm Name of minute taker (s): Blair Pollock and Mary Carlson.