Amending the Source
Separation Ordinance
In Mecklenburg County
May 29, 2013

County staff presented to the Business
Development Commission (BDC) on May
21st and requested representatives to
participate in C&D cardboard recycling
discussions at today’s meeting.
New Developments
Review:
 This is a business recycling law, which was
adopted by the Board of County
Commissioners in 2002 and all seven
municipalities, requiring that business
entities contracting for 16 cubic yards or
more of trash service per week separate their
office paper and corrugated cardboard
for recycling purposes and provide for the
collection of these materials.
What is the Source Separation
Ordinance?
Review
 If the business generates less than 500
pounds a month of either material, they are
exempt from separating that material
 If the business is operating from a temporary
location
 If the business is contracting with a certified
mixed waste processor
 If physical constraints preclude compliance
 If compliance would cause the business to
break another law
Exceptions





Lower threshold of SSO
Remove or reduce 500-lb exemptions
Expand materials affected
Remove temporary site exemption
Tracking and measurement of commercial
waste stream
Potential Changes to Ordinance
Identified in SWMP - 2012
Metal
7%
C&D
Materials
20%
Inerts
29%
Other
19%
Wood
32%
Paper
5%
Bulky/Other
3%
Green Waste
2%
Plastic 1%
Glass 1%
C&D Composition
Reduction in
Emissions
Temporary Site
Exemption (TSE)
Threshold
Tons Office
# Businesses Tons OCC/Yr Paper/Yr
1,300
-28,940
Tons Mixed Tons
Paper/Yr
Bottles/Yr Tons Can/Yr
-25
Tons Office
# Businesses Tons OCC/Yr Paper/Yr
-75
-21
-164
Tons Mixed Tons
Paper/Yr
Bottles/Yr Tons Can/Yr
16 CY
4,900
7,156
2,526
8,630
180
148
8 CY
Temporary Site
Exemption (TSE)
1,700
2,483
876
2,994
62
52
1,300
9,100
6
21
14
12
Total at 8 CY + TSE
7,900
18,739
3,408
11,645
256
212
Impact of Changes Related to
Removing TSEs

Session law 2005-362 An Act to Prohibit
the Disposal of Motor Vehicle Oil
Filters, Rigid Plastic Containers, Wooden
Pallets and Oyster Shell in Landfills
(Used Oil, Yard trash, white
goods, antifreeze, aluminum cans, whole
scrap tires, lead acid batteries).
Expand Materials Affected

Since the Ordinance was passed in 2002, the
number of recycling companies servicing
Mecklenburg County has greatly increased.

There are approximately 30 companies that
collect cardboard for recycling purposes from
business entities in the County.

There are at least 19 companies that collect
pallets for recycling purposes from business
entities in the County.

There are three single stream MRFs that
service the business community with two
more on the way.
Infrastructure Already in Place

The County operates almost 140 Drop-Off
Centers that accept cardboard and are
open to the public.
Infrastructure for Smaller Jobs
Approximately 200 LEED projects in
Charlotte.
 Increased focus on sustainability has led
to greater availability of processing
services and greater site efficiencies.

Impact of LEED
Estimated annual quantity of corrugated
cardboard in C&D waste stream: 7,676
Tons
 Estimated annual missed value of
corrugated cardboard in C&D waste
stream: $1,197,456

Annual Missed Value
Estimated annual quantity of pallets in
C&D waste stream: 4,242 Tons (169,680
pallets)
 Estimated annual missed value of pallets
in C&D waste stream: $89,082

Annual Missed Value

Methods Used in Other Cities/Counties:
◦ Orange County, NC
 Regulated Recyclable Materials Ordinance
addressing corrugated cardboard, clean wood and
scrap metal
 Results – volume of C&D waste fell almost 50%
Removing Temporary Site
Exemptions/Bans – C&D
Pros






Overall positive impact to
the County based on
economic gains to hauling
& processing community &
savings in disposal costs
Bring in additional
recycling tonnage
Reduce Greenhouse Gas
emissions
Level the playing field
Infrastructure exists for
cardboard recycling
Materials have economic
value
Removing TSEs
Cons


Difficult to enforce –
permitting, working with
other jurisdictions or
departments
Space constraints on
construction sites

Costs to Small Businesses
◦ $30-50 per month for a 6-cubic yard dumpster
collected once a week
◦ 45-65% savings since last survey in May 2011
◦ 25% of businesses would see $20-25 per
month savings in pull costs
Small Business Recycling Survey

Materials Collected From Haulers
Material
Cardboard
Office Paper
Mixed Paper
Aseptic Packaging
Aluminum Cans
Metal Food Cans
Aerosol Cans
Plastic Bottles
Rigid Plastic Containers
Mixed Plastic Containers
Glass Bottles
Haulers
Accepting
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
2
The average of all the
businesses responding to
DSM’s survey reported
generating 77 PET
bottles, 54 aluminum
cans, and only 14 glass
bottles per month.
Small Business Recycling Survey
Set next meeting
 Identify any additional information needs

Steps Moving Forward