Amending the
Source Separation Ordinance
In Mecklenburg County
What is the Source Separation
Ordinance?
• This is a business recycling law, which was adopted
by the Board of County Commissioners 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.
General Provisions
• No business entity shall be held liable for failure of its
tenants and/or customers to comply with the requirements
for the source separation of designated materials,
• nor shall any municipal solid waste collector or transporter
of recyclable materials be held liable for the failure of its
customers to comply with such regulations.
• All business entities subject to the ordinance must provide
a separation system for their tenants, employees, and/or
customers, and must provide notification regarding the use
and participation in such system.
Exceptions
• 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
History of the Ordinance
• A Source Separation Ordinance Task Force was formed in
August 2000.
• The Board of Commissioners adopted the Source Separation
Ordinance on 1/1/02 based on the recommendations of the
County taskforce composed of business leaders and
government officials.
• The Ordinance was approved for
Unincorporated Mecklenburg County, the
City of Charlotte and all Mecklenburg Towns.
SSO Taskforce
• Composed of representatives from
municipalities, business interests and solid
waste community
• Began meeting once a month in January 2013,
included 7 regular meetings and 1
construction site visit
Benefits to Current Law
• Expanded infrastructure and jobs
• Conservation of landfill space
• Pre-cursor to “green” movement
Infrastructure
• The County operates almost 140 Drop-Off
Centers that accept both paper and cardboard
and are open to the public.
Relevant Legislation & Policies
• 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
(Also used oil, yard trash, white goods,
antifreeze, aluminum cans, whole scrap tires,
lead acid batteries, discarded computer
equipment and discarded televisions).
Relevant Legislation & Policies
• Session Law 2005-348 An Act to require holders of
Certain ABC Permits to Recycle all recyclable containers
of all beverages sold at retail on the premises and to
prohibit the Disposal of Those Containers in landfills or
by incineration.
Recommendations from DSM
Environmental Services Study - 2011
•
•
•
•
Lower the threshold to 8 cubic yards
Reduce or eliminate the 500 pound exemption
Add mixed paper
Add bottles and cans
Update to DSM Study - 2013
• 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
Update to DSM Study - 2013
• 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.
Potential Diversion as Defined in Solid
Waste Management Plan
Population
FY 1998/99 Base
Year
FY 2001/02 SSO
Passed
FY 2010/11
Current
FY 2016/17 if no
new programs
Disposal Tons
Tons/Person/Year
% Decrease
618,853
641,072
1.04
NA
713,780
615,519
0.86
17%
923,944
513,081
0.56
47%
1,027,829
637,665
0.62
40%
FY 2016/17 with
SSO Expansion
1,027,829
600,852
0.58
44%
FY 2016/17 Goal
1,027,829
575,376
0.56
46%
Impact of Changes Related to
Expanding Materials Affected
% Diverted by
FY 16/17 Projected Expanding SSO +
Education/Outreach
Tons
Tons Diverted
Paper
193,121
-18%
34,641
Glass
17,119
-10%
1,712
Plastic
81,737
-1%
880
Metal
48,070
-3%
1,291
196,320
-8%
16,380
2,687
-8%
204
Other Waste
85,384
0%
0
Problem Materials
13,227
-54%
7,181
637,665
-10%
62,289
Organics
Hazardous Waste
Total
Impact of Changes Related to
Removing Temporary Site Exemptions
Reduction in
Emissions
Temporary Site
Exemption (TSE)
Threshold
Temporary Site
Exemption (TSE)
Corrugated
# Businesses Cardboard
1,300
-28,940
Office Paper Mixed Paper Bottles
-25
Tons Office
# Businesses Tons OCC/Yr Paper/Yr
1,300
9,100
-75
Cans
-21
-164
Tons Mixed Tons
Paper/Yr
Bottles/Yr Tons Can/Yr
6
21
14
12
Annual Missed Value from Not
Recycling at Construction Sites
• Estimated annual quantity of OCC in C&D
waste stream: 7,676 Tons
• Estimated annual missed value of OCC in C&D
waste stream: $1,197,456
• NAHBRC estimates that a
typical 2,000 sq ft home
generates 600 pounds of OCC
Annual Missed Value from Not
Recycling at Construction Sites
• 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
Costs to Residential Builders
Landfill Vs. Recycling Options
Project
Greylock
Taken to
REBIC
Example
Landfill
14
14
Hauling
Per haul Tons
Frequency Cost
Hauled
Cost/Ton
Total
Cost
5
incl.
10 incl. in price $1,366.39
MWP
Landfill + OCC
Hauler B
Recycler
5
5 trash + 1
12
OCC
150
10
incl.
REBIC
Example
Landfill
30
3.5
incl.
14
incl. $1,200.00
MWP
Landfill + OCC
Hauler B
Recycler
30
3.5
3 trash + 1
30
OCC
170
14
$41 $1,169.00
incl.
16 incl. in price
Hauler A
National
Builder
Container
Size (CY)
Hauler A
$40 $1,150.00
10.5 incl. in price $1,125.00
$925.00
Missed Opportunities from Not
Recycling at Special Events
• Of approximately 40 large public events a year
in Mecklenburg County
– Only half of which recycled
– Just 18 events in 2012 generated
35 tons of recycling
– Recycling in Panthers Stadium
generates on average $350/ton
Similar Existing Programs
• Mandatory business recycling programs –
Fairfax County, VA; Austin, TX; Chicago, IL;
Philadelphia, PA; Portland, OR
• C&D recycling programs – Orange County, NC;
King County, WA; Fresno, CA
• Event recycling programs – Atlanta, GA;
Seattle, WA; San Jose, CA
Staff and SSO Taskforce
Recommendations for Businesses
• Eliminate 500-lb exemptions
• Reduce threshold to 8 cubic yards per week
• Expand materials to include mixed paper
and landfill banned items
Staff and SSO Taskforce Recommendations
for Special Events
• Eliminate Temporary Site Exemption
• Establish threshold of 8 cubic yards – events
that contract for 8 cy of trash service must
provide recycling
• Expand materials to include mixed
paper and landfill banned items
Staff and SSO Taskforce
Recommendations for C & D Sites
• Eliminate Temporary Site Exemption
• Establish threshold of 8 cubic yards – sites that contract
for 8 cy of trash service per week must provide
recycling (calculated by determining how often 30-yard,
or whatever size container used, is emptied)
• Expand materials to include mixed paper and landfill
banned items
• Delay effective date of ordinance for single family
builders until 2016
Steps Moving Forward
• Make Recommendations
• Public Education/Outreach
• Approval Process