Preservation News

Public Interest Group Grades 100 Counties

As the new home of NCPIRG's environmental work, Environment North Carolina can be contacted with any questions regarding this news release. 

CHAPEL HILL—Four Triangle counties received either A+'s or B+'s for their efforts at waste reduction last year, according to Recycling Solutions, a rating of all North Carolina county recycling programs released today by the North Carolina Public Interest Research Group (NCPIRG). The Triangle counties were among only 20 across the state praised for their recycling efforts.

"More trash is going into our landfills than ever before," said Elizabeth Ouzts, director of NCPIRG. "But the counties highlighted in this report show that recycling solutions can put a hefty dent in our garbage heap if everyone takes part."

The 1989 Solid Waste Management Act set a goal of reducing waste disposal per person statewide by 40% by 2001. Instead, waste disposal per person has increased 14%. Among the counties highlighted in the report, Orange County came closest to meeting its individual waste reduction goal, followed by Chatham. Both reduced waste disposal by more than 30% since 1991. Statewide, only nineteen counties came within 5% of meeting their waste reduction goals.

"We're proud to be one of the counties in the state that has actually reduced waste disposal substantially in the last 10 years," said Blair Pollock, Orange County Solid Waste Programs Manager. "We attribute our success to a strong commitment by our local elected officials in continuing to invest in waste reduction and to the citizens and businesses of this County for making that investment pay off by participating in all the recycling programs we offer."

The analysis of county performance is based on data from 2000-2001 annual reports submitted to the NC Department of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance by local governments and solid waste management facilities around the state. In Recycling Solutions, NCPIRG grades counties' performance based on how much they recycle each year; the relationship between what they landfill and what they recycle; the variety of waste reduction programs they offer; and the percentage of recyclable materials in their county they succeed in capturing for recycling.

The report highlighted 20 counties for their recycling programs: Catawba, Orange, Pitt (A+); Buncombe (A); and Chatham, Craven, Dare, Duplin, Durham, Granville, Guilford, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Mecklenburg, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga (B+).

Other key findings of the report:

• Only 24 counties received a B grade or higher for their recycling programs. The average grade was a "D" for the state's 100 counties.

• Eight of the 20 counties highlighted for exceptional recycling programs increased their waste disposal in the last ten years due in part to disposal increases from the construction, commercial, and industrial sectors.

According to the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 72% of the state's waste disposal comes from businesses, industry, and construction and demolition debris, which county recycling programs do not typically control. The report estimated that if only one of these sectors-the construction and demolition industry-reused or recycled half of all its debris, waste disposal statewide would have decreased 14% in 2001.

"In order for us to expand on our successes, we need more involvement from the commercial and industrial community," said David McCary, Director of Solid Waste Management for the City of Durham. "If they represent 75% of the waste stream in Durham County, they've got to be part of the solution."

The NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources is currently developing its Ten Year Solid Waste Management Plan, many components of which will require action by the NC General Assembly. Two bills, introduced last year by Representative Joe Hackney and Senator Fountain Odom, which would reduce disposal of certain construction and demolition debris, will also be eligible for consideration in the 2002 Short Session. Legislation regulating waste from computer disposal is also likely to be considered.

"We need to change the course of solid waste management to keep communities clean and safe," said Ouzts. "Lawmakers will have that opportunity this May, and they can look to the twenty counties highlighted here for solutions."