Solid Waste & Recycling E-News March 2022

• Did You Know?
• Shred-A-Thons
• High Rock Renovations
• Local Composting Facility Virtual Tour
• Recycling Glass – What’s Accepted?
• Food Waste Action Week
• C&D Unloading Arrival Time Requirement

Shred-A-Thons

Mark your calendars, the Spring Shred-A-Thon events are approaching! The first event is on Saturday, March 26^th at the Eubanks Rd. Park and Ride lot in Chapel Hill. The second event is the following weekend, on Saturday, April 2^nd at the Hampton Point Drop-Off Site behind Home Depot in Hillsborough. Both events take place from 10am -2pm or until capacity is met.

There is a 4 box/bag limit for these events. Bags must be clear plastic bags and no larger than 13 gallons. Boxes must be no larger than a banker box.  

REMEMBER: Confidential papers ONLY. No newspapers, magazines, catalogs or photos.

This event is sponsored by the Local Government Federal Credit Union. 

High Rock Renovations

Renovation of the High Rock Rd. Waste and Recycling Center is underway. A small-limited temporary site will be available by the entrance of the Center for residents to use while renovations take place. Only residential household waste, single-stream recycling and cardboard will be accepted at the temporary site. Other items may be taken to the nearest Waste and Recycling site at 3605 Walnut Grove Church Road, Hillsborough NC 27278.

The Solid Waste team thanks you for your patience and cooperation as additional disposal and recycling services, including bulky items, food waste, plastic bag/film, used cooking oil and textiles, are added to the site.

To receive updates on the status of the High Rock Rd. renovations, check the monthly e-newsletters and follow us on social media @ocncsolidwaste.

Local Composting Facility Virtual Tour

Do you ever wonder where your food waste and compostable materials go? If you participate in the composting program in Orange County, this webinar will show you how your materials turn into compost at the Brooks Composting Facility in Goldston, NC! The webinar includes a full virtual tour of the composting facility and information about the various processes that take place to make soil-enriching compost.

Register here to learn how the composting magic happens!

Recycling Glass - What's Accepted?

A recent article posted by the Daily Tar Heel regarding Orange County’s new recycling star program included an error in listing a recycling contaminant. The original article stated ‘If they find contaminants, such as plastic bags, glass and coat hangers, the cart will be labeled with an “oops” tag’. They have made the correction to remove ‘glass’ from the statement and the updated article can be found here.

The Solid Waste Department wanted to highlight this to make residents aware that there are various types of glass and not all glass can be recycled. Only glass bottles and jars CAN be recycled. Other common glass products such as wine glasses, mirrors, windows, glass candle containers, and Pyrex containers can NOT be recycled. These types of glass are made differently and have varying compositions and melting points, which make it difficult to recycle with regular glass bottles and jars. When it comes to glass, please only recycle your glass bottles and jars. Lids and caps can stay on.

Glass is endlessly recyclable with little to no loss in quality or purity. Recycled glass also uses 30% less energy which helps reduce CO2 emissions! Keep recycling your glass bottles and jars and when using a County recycling site, please recycle your glass in the separate glass recycling dumpster.

Food Waste Action Week 2022

Do you love food and hate waste? Participate in the Food Waste Action Week this year (March 7-13) to combat food waste and fight climate change.

When you throw food away, the impact extends beyond your trashcan. Not only is the food itself being wasted but the valuable resources used to create it. From seed to plate, your food uses land, water, and fertilizer to grow and creates greenhouse gas emissions in the production and transportation processes.

One third of all food in the US goes uneaten. The EPA estimates that about 81% of households’ wasted food ends up in a landfill or combustion facility-that’s a lot of wasted resources! Food is the single largest category of material placed in municipal landfills and municipal landfills are the THIRD largest source of human related methane emissions in the US (EPA).

Ready to save money and prevent food waste? Read the tips below:

• Save money: Before shopping, check your pantry and fridge for ingredients you already have. It is also helpful to make a list of things that need to be used up and plan meals around those items. By planning your grocery lists and only buying what you need, you will spend less and waste less!
• Storing produce: When you properly store your fruits and vegetables, they will taste better and last longer which helps you eat more of them before they go bad.
  • Most veggies, especially those that wilt like leafy greens, broccoli and cucumbers should go in the high humidity drawer of the fridge. It also helps to wrap leafy greens in damp paper towels and store them in a bag or container to keep them fresh longer.
  • For most fruits and veggies that tend to go rot quickly, place them in the low humidity drawer of the fridge. Wait to wash berries, cherries and grapes until you are ready to eat to help prevent mold.
  • Some fruits like bananas, peaches, avocados and apples release ethylene gas as they ripen which makes nearby produce ripen faster so it’s best to store these separately.
• Get creative with scraps and leftovers:
  • Overripe veggies and fruits can still be great in soups, purees, casseroles and smoothies.
  • Leftovers can be incorporated into a new meal. Old rice can turn into fried rice, old bread can be made into croutons.
  • Vegetable skins and peels can be saved in the freezer and used to make vegetable stock.
  • Pickling, dehydrating and making jam/jelly are also great options to use up some extra fruits and vegetables.

Aside from repurposing leftovers and proper food storage, an easy option is to freeze your food. If you’re going on a trip or have extra food that you won’t be able to eat in time, just freeze it! Put a date on the container so you know how long it’s been in the freezer.

If you weren’t able to eat your food before it went bad, there’s still an option to keep it out of the landfill! Composting your food scraps is the next best step. The composting process helps return the nutrients to the soil and gives your spoiled food another life. For composting drop-off options in Orange County, visit this page.

For a full list of tips to prevent food waste, visit the EPA’s food waste prevention page.

C&D Unloading Arrival Time Requirement

For those visiting the landfill, please note the following arrival time requirements:

• Hydraulic operated dump vehicles must be inside the gate 15 minutes before closing.
• All other customers must be inside the gate 30 minutes before closing.

Complying with these times will help ensure that customers are not staying in the landfill past closing time and help site attendants close the site on time.

The landfill is open Monday-Friday from 7am-4pm and Saturday from 8am-12pm. For more information about the disposal operations at the landfill, visit this page.

Follow Us on Social Media!

Follow our social media pages for important updates on waste and recycling programs in the County, upcoming events & webinars, answers to FAQ’s, facilities schedule changes (due to holidays or inclement weather) and other important recycling news you can use!
@ocncsolidwaste on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

Can't Get Enough Trash Talk?

Listen to OC Solid Waste Representatives the second Tuesday of each month from 8:15 am to 8:45 am on the ‘3-D News’ on local radio WHUP 104.7 FM, over the air and streaming online. Visit this link to listen online. If you missed the show, you can listen online since shows are archived for a month after airing.