Solid Waste E-News: November 2021 

• Did You Know?
• Food Waste Reduction – Impact Report
• Got Junk Mail?
• America Recycles Day!
• Leave your Leaves

Styrofoam, labeled as #6 PS (polystyrene), is a lightweight plastic often used for cups, take-out containers, egg cartons, and packaging materials. It’s difficult to recycle Styrofoam with other materials in your blue cart because it easily breaks apart. This material crumbles into small pieces which become microplastics and end up in oceans, rivers, and other natural habitats.

While it’s best to avoid Styrofoam products when possible, there are some options to separately recycle Styrofoam. Publix has a foam recycling program that is free to use, check with your local Publix. There are also companies in Durham and Randleman that have foam recycling programs. Check out Shimar Recycling and Dart Container for more info.

Food Waste Reduction - Impact Report

The Orange County Community has been able to divert 462 tons (946,110 lbs) of food waste from the landfill through composting! The composting program includes restaurants and businesses as well as the 5 drop-off sites around the County.

The County offers a commercial food waste collection program to eligible restaurants and businesses at no cost to them. There are currently about 50 restaurants and businesses on the program such as flower shops, recovery centers, and local café’s. The continued efforts to reduce waste by those on the program during these difficult times are greatly appreciated! If you are a restaurant/business owner interested in joining the program, email recycling@orangecountync.gov to learn more.

Restaurants, businesses, and community members working together can help Orange County reduce its carbon footprint, save landfill space, create jobs, and produce healthier soil in North Carolina. Healthier soil enables more reliable local food production, contributing to a more secure food system. Keep on composting!

Got Junk Mail?

Written by Gabriela Alba

Junk mail can be a nuisance. The constant stream of unwanted catalogs, magazines, coupons, and insurance offers to your mailbox can be overwhelming and cumbersome to manage. According to the Sightline Institute, each American receives about 41 pounds each year! In many cases, people will treat this junk mail how it sounds -- junk. The EPA reports that 60% of junk mail is thrown away each year. Of this junk mail, 44% ends up in the landfill unread.

Although junk mail might seem like it belongs in the trash, most junk mail can be recycled. Since most junk mail is paper, which is recyclable, the majority of junk mail can be recycled and transformed into new paper products. Unfortunately, a lot of junk mail is not recycled in the United States. Each year, upwards of 5.6 million tons of junk mail ends up in the landfill, making up 2.4% of landfill waste.

In an effort to promote the recycling of junk mail, Orange County Solid Waste Management is starting a Junk Mail Recycling Program! In the upcoming weeks, Orange County will provide recycling bins to multi-unit housing complexes at no cost to place at their mailbox sites next to the trash can. Through this program, Orange County aims to divert junk mail away from the landfill by providing residents easy access to recycling bins. If you live in or manage a complex that you think will benefit from this program, please reach out to Gabriela Alba, Recycling Program Management and Education Intern, via email at galba@orangecountync.gov.

Interested in learning ways to reduce junk mail? One of the best ways to manage junk mail is by opting out of it so that you don’t receive it in the first place. Follow the Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service’s guidelines below to reduce junk mail.

1. Ask credit card companies and other businesses and organizations not to sell, rent or trade your name. 
2. Call 888-567-8688 to ask credit-reporting firms to remove your name from their mailing list.
3. Send your name and its variations:
   1. Mail Preference Service
      Direct Marketing Association
      P.O. Box 282
      Carmel, NY 10512
4. Send a card to the following address and request that your name and address be removed from their mailing list.

America Recycles Day

On November 15^th celebrate America Recycles Day – a day that highlights the importance and impact of recycling. According to the EPA, the recycling rate has increased from less than 7% in 1960 to the current rate of 32%, but we know there is still more work to be done to increase the recycling rate.

Why is there a day dedicated to celebrating recycling? Well, recycling has a lot of positive benefits; one study shows that recycling and reuse practices accounted for 681,000 jobs and $37.8 billion in wages.
Recycling can directly benefit YOUR Orange County community by:

• Reducing the amount of waste sent to the Sampson County landfill
• Reducing the emissions from trucks hauling waste to the landfill
• Preventing pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials
• Helping create more jobs in your area
  • If every household in the Carolinas recycled 2 more bottles a week, it would create an additional 300 jobs!
• Supporting local manufacturing and businesses
• Conserving natural resources like timber, water, and minerals

Visit this page to see what you can and can’t recycle in Orange County. For a more in-depth guide on how to discard/recycle/donate items – check out the A-Z Recycle Guide.
Take an extra step and sign this pledge by the ‘Your Bottles Means Jobs Campaign’ to recycle more plastic bottles! Remember, your plastic bottle doesn’t benefit anyone when it ends up in a landfill.

Leave Your Leaves

It’s the time of year when leaves are changing color and falling. As they start to cover your yard, you may have the urge to pile them up and bag them. It is more beneficial if you leave them where they are!

Not removing leaves not only saves time and money but also increases biodiversity and climate resiliency. A bed of decomposing leaves helps soak up water during heavy rains and slowly releases the water to help keep trees and other plants hydrated through dry periods. The bed of leaves also helps reduce runoff.

In addition, leaf litter helps the insect population during the winter season by providing a habitat for several pollinators and 94% of caterpillars – both vital insects in the ecosystem.
Instead of bagging up your leaves, consider:

• Raking the leaves into areas around shrubs and into flower beds to serve as a natural (and free) mulch
• Using the leaves in your compost pile
• Leaving them as a replacement for grass under trees

Check out Leaveyourleaves.org for more info on leaving your leaves!