Commercial Recycling

Purpose

Orange County Solid Waste Management operates a recycling collection program and an organics collection program for the commercial sector in Orange County. Call 919-968-2788 or email recycling to find out if your business is eligible for the commercial recycling program or organics collection program. Visit the 'What Goes in My Blue Recycle Cart' page for more details.

Commercial Recycling

Businesses receiving this service are responsible for proper preparation of recyclable materials and cart and site cleanliness. Our commercial recycling program’s primary focus is to serve those County businesses with ABC permits, but businesses on or adjacent to our existing recycling routes are also eligible. A business must demonstrate a willingness to properly prepare materials for recycling, maintain the site, and there must be adequate space for truck access.

Recyclable materials are collected in labeled carts at commercial recycling locations. Do not leave recycling in plastic bags! If recyclables are collected in plastic bags, please remove the recyclables, place them inside the blue carts, and discard the bag elsewhere. Please recycle cardboard separately.

• Recycle Guide

Corrugated Cardboard

Corrugated cardboard is banned from landfill disposal. Businesses that generate fewer than fifty boxes per week may use one of the four 24-hour drop-off sites located throughout the county. Businesses may deliver unlimited amounts of separated cardboard to the landfill for recycling at no charge, or contract privately for cardboard recycling services.

Commercial Food Waste Collection

Orange County Solid Waste Management operates and manages the Commercial Food Waste Collection Program that diverts an average of one million pounds of food waste and other compostable material from the landfill each year.

Eligibility

Businesses that are eligible for the Commercial organics program either produce at least 2 tons of organic waste each month or can partner with neighboring businesses to reach that tonnage requirement. A business must demonstrate a willingness to properly separate materials for composting, maintain the site, and there must be adequate space for truck access.

Contact

If you are interested in food waste collection, please email recycling so we can assess eligibility. Collection and composting services are provided in carts by Brooks Contracting, or the sub-contractor, Compost Now.

Accepted Items

Because this material goes to a commercial composting company, we are able to accept a much wider array of organics. Produce and meat preparation waste, post-consumer waste, and certified compostable serving ware from local restaurants, grocery stores, florists, institutions, and special events are among the materials collected for composting. 

View the Commercial Composting Poster (PDF)

Sale

The finished compost is available for sale in bulk and in bags at the Orange County Landfill and in bags at Southern States in Carrboro.

Technical Assistance

We provide technical assistance for waste reduction and recycling to businesses and other non-residential entities on request at no charge. This ranges from marketing questions, facility waste assessments to helping to set up a recycling program.