Solid Waste & Recycling E-News: January 2024

• Did You Know?
• MLK Jr. Day Recycling and Facilities Schedule
• Our Newsletter is Getting a New Look!
• Key Points Going into 2024
• Orange County Ag Summit

Our Newsletter is Getting a New Look!

Orange County Solid Waste, along with other County departments, is switching to a new E-Newsletter platform called Emma to give our newsletter an enhanced look! All current subscribers will be transferred to Emma and will receive the new monthly E-Newsletter as follows:

Current subscribers will receive both the current and the new January 2024 Solid Waste & Recycling E-Newsletter.

• If you do not receive the new version on the same day that you receive the current version, please check your spam folder for the new newsletter and change your email settings to allow emails from the sender.
• If you do not receive the new newsletter in your inbox or spam folder, please re-subscribe to the E-Newsletter on our website.

Beginning in February, subscribers will only receive the new E-Newsletter.

• If you do not receive the new version, please check your spam folder for the newsletter and change your email settings to allow emails from the sender.
• If you do not receive the new newsletter in your inbox or spam folder, please re-subscribe to the E-Newsletter on our website.

Key Points Going into the 2024

Happy New Year, Orange County! Below are several key solid waste and recycling topics to take into the new year:

1. Food Waste Diversion Program: 2023 Recap and Call for Participants

In 2023, Orange County diverted 1,074,894 pounds of food waste through food waste drop-off sites and the Commercial Food Waste Diversion program, a 14% increase from 2022. The amount of food waste diverted is equivalent to avoiding 2,794,725 pounds of CO2 production, or 111,789 pounds of methane production. Methane is the second most abundant human-made greenhouse gas and is 28 times stronger than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Food waste collected through Orange County’s programs is converted to compost at an industrial composting facility. An impressive 107,490 pounds of compost was created from the food waste collected in Orange County. Thank you to everyone that helped divert food waste from landfills!

Collecting organic waste for composting is one of the best ways to reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions, which occurs when organic waste is landfilled instead of composted. Orange County’s most recent waste audit, conducted in 2017, found that roughly 46% of landfilled waste was organic material, which includes food waste, yard waste, compostable paper, and compostable wood. Of that percentage, 25% of material was food waste. By collecting and composting organic waste, Orange County may reduce almost half of its landfilled waste!

Contribute to Orange County’s road to zero waste by bringing residential household food waste to any of the County’s six free food waste drop-off sites. Also, if you work at a restaurant or school and are interested in your establishment joining the Commercial Food Waste Diversion program, sponsored by the County, please contact our office at recycling@orangecountync.gov. 

Composting is Nature’s Recycling

Not only is diverting food waste beneficial to reducing landfill waste, it also helps create compost, a valuable resource that improves soil and plant quality. Composting, nature’s way of recycling, is the production of compost through the decomposition of organic material. Compost is a crumbly brown material that is rich in nutrients and provides a variety of chemical, physical, and biological benefits to soils and plants. Finished compost has many applications; it is used for topdressing, incorporated into soil as an amendment, and mixed into topsoil.

Some of the benefits of applying compost are:

• Improved soil structure
• Reduced erosion
• Increased nutrients and microorganisms
• Weed and pest control
• Suppression of plant diseases

Orange County sells top grade compost produced by an industrial composting facility using the food waste collected from the County’s food waste drop-offs and Commercial Food Waste Diversion program. Visit the Mulch & Compost webpage for more information.

Home composting is another great option to reduce landfilled food waste and enrich home gardens, lawns, and potted plants. If you’re interested in composting at home, Orange County sells 80 gallon Earth Machine Backyard Composters (left image) to help residents produce compost at home and 2 gallon kitchen countertop bins (right image) to collect your food scraps. Visit the Compost Bins for Sale webpage for more information.

2. New 24-Hour Drop-Off Site in Southern Orange County

Orange County Solid Waste is opening a new 24-hour unstaffed drop off-site location, expected to open in the first half of 2024. The site will be in southern Orange County and will accept single-stream recycling, corrugated cardboard, and separated glass recycling. These three different material streams will have separate collection containers labeled with respective signage.

As a reminder, single-stream recycling, corrugated cardboard, and separated glass recycling should never be bagged, and plastic bags, film, and wrap are not accepted. Additionally, the 24-hour sites do not accept trash; never leave garbage on the ground or in the recycling containers, as that constitutes illegal dumping and can result in a citation or fine.

Orange County will announce the opening date and new site address via the Solid Waste homepage, E-Newsletter, social media, and Orange County NC Recycles app.

3. Solid Waste Master Plan Road to Zero Waste Update

The implementation options for the Solid Waste Master Plan will be presented and discussed at a Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on February 6^th, 2024 (instead of the previously announced January date).

BOCC meetings are open to the public and can be attended virtually and in person. For more information on how to attend meetings virtually, please visit the BOCC Meeting Videos webpage. Please review the Meetings section on the BOCC homepage for the date and location of the in person meeting, as this is subject to change.

Solid Waste will continue to update residents on the progression of the Solid Waste Master Plan Road to Zero Waste. Please visit orangecounty.gov/zerowaste to learn more.

4. Reduce and Reuse First

As Orange County continues to work on the Road to Zero Waste, Solid Waste encourages County residents, businesses, and institutions to practice the three R’s – reduce, reuse, and recycle – in that order. Reduce the amount of waste generated and reuse products and materials to decrease the amount of waste sent to landfills, conserve resources, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Opportunities to reduce and reuse materials and products are numerous. Reduce landfill waste by collecting food and organic waste for composting, reducing clothing and textile consumption, buying second-hand products, and repairing broken items in lieu of purchasing new ones.

Visit the Waste Reduction webpage for more information and ideas on how to reduce and reuse.

Orange County Ag Summit

Each year, Orange County and its North Carolina Cooperative Extension department host the Ag Summit. The Ag Summit is a one-day seminar bringing together farmers, suppliers, government officials, and other specialists to explore the state of farming in Orange County and contiguous counties. Discussions center on topics and trends that are impacting the agricultural industry.

The 2024 Ag Summit is on Monday, February 19^th from 8 AM to 2 PM at the Cedar Grove Community Center, located at 5800 NC-86, Hillsborough, NC 27278. The Ag Summit is free to attend and provides a complimentary, locally sourced lunch. Register at orangecountync.gov/AgSummit.

Orange County Solid Waste will be tabling at the Ag Summit. Attendees can learn and talk to the Education and Outreach Team about recycling, composting, and other opportunities provided by the Solid Waste Department, as well as pick up some Solid Waste SWAG!

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. 

Follow Us On Social Media

For more waste and recycling content, follow Orange County NC Solid Waste @ocncsolidwaste on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.