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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSWAG Meeting Summary 3 20 25DRAFT Solid Waste Advisory Group Meeting Summary DATE: March 20, 2025 LOCATION: Solid Waste Administration Training Room/Teams ____________________________________________________________________________ MEMBERS PRESENT: Jamezetta Bedford, Orange County Commissioner, Marily Cart, Orange County Commissioner, Randee Haven-O’Donnel, Carrboro Council Member, Barbara Foushee, Carrboro Mayor, Melissa McCullough, Chapel Hill Council Member, Adam Searing, Chapel Hill Council Member, Mark Bell, Hillsborough Mayor MEMBERS ABSENT: Meaghun Darab, Hillsborough Commissioner STAFF PRESENT: Rober Williams Solid Waste Director, Cheryl Young, Orange County, Lance Norris, Chapel Hill Public Works Director, Dustin Hill, Hillsborough Public Works Manager, Kevin Belanger, Carrboro Public Works Director, Wendy Simmons, Chapel Hill Public Works, Kristin Benoit, Carrboro Public Works, Amy Eckenberg, Orange County, Orange County Staff: Bruce Woody, Jason Dunn, Rachel Potts, Tata Wright, Robbie Raper, and Wanda McCain ____________________________________________________________________________ Call to Order Approval of April 29, 2024, Meeting Summary Path to Zero Waste Presentation Carter states that the chart is very helpful to visualize the opportunities of materials in the waste stream. Williams states that 35% of material is recyclable if reducing by half, we are getting significant tons of recyclable material. Cheryl will identify other areas we can focus on. McCullough states that food waste can be reduced by redirecting surplus items—such as overflow from buffets—to homeless shelters, which decreases the amount of food requiring composting. Is that part of the education and programing? Young states that it’s part of the hierarchy. Reducing is the first thing. Reuse is next. The last thing is recycling and composting is natures recycling. McCullough when you look at education to get people to reduce, do you think of the life cycle analysis of things such as the difference between a paper cut that gets thrown away and a Styrofoam cup that gets thrown away which produces a lot of pollutants when it manufactured. Young states that again it starts with reduce. If you have a cup, don’t get another one. Bell asks what the sample size for the analysis was. William states that Cheryl will talk about that in her presentation. Carter states that some paper products are coded with PFAS materials. Where does that come in the conversation? Williams states that Producers can make it, ultimately, it’s the local governments that handle and find a plan. 2025 Waste Characterization Study Haven-O’Donnel asks about the status of the Glass on The Side program. One of the key issues is the mixing of glass that could be separated out. Young states that glass that is collected on the side about 95% of it makes it into the stream. About 30% to 35% is lost in breakage. We don’t want to deter people from putting it in the recycling carts because that is still better than throwing it in the trash. Searing asks about the approach over time to the composting of food waste. Is it better to focus on the group efforts or Town-wide efforts to collect it? Can we subsidize individual production efforts? Young states that there is a balance of the financial side and environmental side. That is part of the organics study to be developed. It is not as straightforward as collecting everybody. Williams states that it’s about what the community can sustain. We can get 20 trucks and 64,000 carts but is it worth it? Searing states that the resource is do we try a bunch of different things. Young states that we have applied for a small grant for permanent boxes for food waste collection that have a QR code to an APP to open the box. This will eliminate some of the of challenges of contamination and animals. The goal is place them at the unmanned drop off sites and the Farmers markets. Carter asks if the paper with PFAS is a potential problem; is there data on that. How do we address that? Williams states that BPI certified compostable materials has been identified as having less PFAS … We have to make it easier for everyone. We have a long way to go to change the habits and mindsets of what we’ve been doing for the last 50-60 years. You really can’t get away from it. Carter asks what is the end use of the compost that will be generated as a result of organics program. Williams states that there could be opportunities for partnerships with different communities, co-ops, gardening groups, schools, ore the sale of compost. We will have to research that. Haven-O’Donnel states that composting, beyond what it can achieve moving toward zero waste production, has an unbelievable amount of methane avoided and carbon sequestration by emission. That is a key factor of the education. Bedford states that with the new school facilities, it would be interesting to tie this in with those plans as they are being developed to synthesize with what a new school would need to set up trash, recycling and composting. Young states that it runs through our department with new buildings being built to make certain that there’s waste. I’ve asked them to start addressing the issue of food waste collection at new buildings. There needs to be space inside and outside. Next Meeting Williams states that there will be a doodle poll to for the next meeting in August/September. Bedford asks if we need to recruit for NC-Chapel Hill or the Hospital Williams states that UNC-Chapel Hill is going through a transition Public Comment Carrie Donnelly with Fair Oaks Compost states that I am here to give an update on our composting program. In our first year of composting, we diverted 9.5 tons of food waste from the landfill and avoided the production of one ton of methane. That is the equivalent of about 25 tons carbon dioxide. In 2024 we had four neighborhoods launch composting programs. This year we have applied for another round of the Green Neighborhoods funding. There are neighborhoods in Chapel Hill who are interested in doing the same thing but we’ve yet to find a mechanism to fund those programs. I support Orange County Solid Waste food waste program in any way that I can. Bedford asks how much money is needed to start up a neighborhood. Donnelly states that the Green Neighborhood’s grants are $2,500. For a neighborhood our size, we needed $2,300 to pay Compost Now for a year. Adjourn Meeting adjourned at: 7:08pm Name of Minute Taker: Wanda McCain