Recycling habits garbage: Downtown businesses not recycling like they should
November 17, 2009
Recycling efforts on Franklin Street must be improved.
Since 1992, the Orange County Solid Waste Department has recruited bars and restaurants to recycle better. But many businesses are not meeting county expectations.
The businesses on the 100 block of East Franklin Street appear to be struggling the most. This high-density business block is not utilizing an effective recycling regimen and the rest of the town is suffering because of it.
During the warm North Carolina summer months, the pungent smell of garbage wafts from the alleys on Franklin Street. This odor is a direct result of the block’s back-door and alley method of recycling, according to Jan Sassaman, solid waste advisory board chairwoman for Orange County.
The six sites for recycling on the north side of the block are located throughout the parking lots, parking decks and service alleys.
In this type of setting, recycling carts are generally not placed next to the waste compactors. This leads to compactors crammed with recycling and recycling carts filled with non-recyclable waste.
This setup hinders the ability of the 50 or so businesses located on the block to recycle.
Besides failing to put trash and recyclables in the proper containers due to employee laziness or a business’s lack of care, some bars and restaurants put recycling in plastic bags.
Many plastic bags collected for recycling never get recycled. The growing trend is either to incinerate the bags or ship them to third world countries to dump them.
Although the town is making a better effort to monitor waste management and recycling downtown, they should be encouraged to do more.
The town can write tickets for trash left on the ground, but only if the owner can be identified.
The Orange County Waste Management Department and the town need to hold businesses and individuals accountable for their actions.
If this unsustainable trend continues, not only will the environment suffer but so will the beauty of downtown Chapel Hill.
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Dear Editor: We are always
Dear Editor:
We are always glad when there is support for improving the recycling programs as shown in your 11/17 eidtorial. However, Orange County’s Solid Waste Management Department is writing to clarify a few points from your editorial of November 17 regarding downtown recycling efforts.
1. Jan Sassaman, the chair of the Solid Waste Advisory Board is a man, not a woman.
2. Mr. Sassaman stated to Ms. Griffth the following (quoting from his email on the subject) "My comments to Alyssa Griffith on Monday were that the odor was likely that from garbage from restaurants, not from recyclables. We discussed the county programs to recycle compostables (i.e. food wastes) I suggested that she talk with either Blair(Pollock), Rob (Taylor), or Murie (Williman)l to get the facts and details straight about recycling and composting. I even gave her your phone number so that she could call. NOTE: no downtownbusinesses now separate food waste for composting as part of the County’s food waste program."
3. Typically any materials such as plastic bags filled with garbage are not recycled when placed in or near the recycling program’s carts. They are instead sent with other waste collected from Chapel Hill to the County-owned landfill here in Orange County or disposed in a landfill in or near the jurisdiction of the recycling processing facility where bagged recyclables might end up, if they are not thrown out due to being bagged. We are not aware of circumstances in which these plastic bags, regardless of if they held recyclables or waste, end up incinerated. There is only one incinerator in NC and that is in Wilmington NC; no Orange County waste is known to go there. Further we are not aware of plastic bags that are used for local garbage or recycling collection being separated from waste and recoverd to be shipped third wold countries for dumping. We have no idea where this assertion stems from.
4. Both Orange County Solid Waste Management Department and the Town of Chapel Hill are holding businesses accountable by a combination of outreach, education and where needed, ticketing those who violate Town anti-littering and anti-dumping ordinances. Our recent door-to-door foray into the recycling arena downtown to improve performance is indication of our high level of interest in improving the quality of recycling and correcting littering and dumping problems. Almost all the businesses contacted in this effort were also quite enthusiastic about opportunities to improve their recycling effort.
Sincerely
Blair L. Pollock
Solid Waste Planner