March 26, 2010
STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE TRIANGLE
Household Waste Disposal Practices
Did You Know?
Municipal Solid Waste Generation
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), or trash, is made up of household items
that people commonly use and then throw away or recycle. MSW essentially
includes all trash besides industrial, hazardous or construction waste. MSW
trends over the past 50 years nationwide were used as a basis for measurement.
Quick Facts about
MSW Generation:

On average
nationally, each
person generates
4.50 pounds of solid
waste a day.

Recycling rates have
increased from 10
percent of MSW
nationwide in 1980
to 33 percent of
MSW nationwide in
2008.

Waste disposal to
landfills has
decreased from 89
percent of MSW
generated in 1980
to 54 percent in
2008 of MSW
generated.
MSW is an important factor to consider in an analysis of the Triangle’s abilitiy
to connect people with nature because waste reduction and recycling trends
demonstrate the environmental progressiveness of a community.
When looking at MSW trends an assessment can be made on waste
reduction rates and recycling program development across the country. The
graph below demonstrates that since 1960, total MSW generation has gone up
nationwide. Though this is not surprising, when breaking down the disposal of
MSW between trash and recycling, the total millions of tons of recycling has
increased: from 69.4 million tons in 2000 to 82.9 million tons in 2008 while
millions of tons of trash is decreasing slightly: from 169.7 million tons in 2000
to 166.7 million tons in 2008.
Nationwide Municipal Solid Waste
Millions of Tons
300
250
Trash
200
150
Recycling
100
TTL MSW Generation
50
0
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2008
Source: EPA: MSW Generation, Recycling and Disposal in the United States 2008
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March 26, 2010
STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE TRIANGLE
Triangle Waste Disposal Programs
An examination of trash disposal programs and recycling programs in the Triangle demonstrate the best
practices, or lack thereof, of waste disposal throughout the region. A survey of each county’s services was completed
to understand the state of the Triangle waste collection, a key indicator of the Triangle’s capabilities to connect people
with nature through environmentally friendly waste disposal practices.
County
Curbside Recycling?
Chatham
Number of
Recycling
Centers
County: 12
Number of
Convenience
Centers
County: 12
Number of
Landfills
Other Waste Disposal Practices
County: 1
County: Yes
County: 4
County: 1
- Hotline for illegal waste disposal
- Environmental Enforcement Program
- Recycling Fee to Collect: Yard Waste, Inert
Debris
- Recycling No Fee- Tires, Scrap Metal and
Appliances, Motor Oil and Filters, Propane
Tanks, Electronics, Car Batteries, Pesticide
Containers.
- Small Business Recycling Centers
- Swap Shop
- Household Hazardous Waste Collection
Center
- Solid Waste Advisory Committee
- Household Hazardous Waste Center
- Roll Off Container Rental Services
- Swap Shop
- No stationary container services
Durham
County: 4
Johnston
County: 12
Municipal:
2 (Benson,
Smithfield
County: No
Municipal: 4 (Public: Pine
Level, Princeton
Private: Clayton, Selma:)
County: 12
County: 1
- Disposal Services: Tire, Appliance, Batteries,
Waste Motor Oil
Lee
County: 6
County: No
Municipal: 1 (Private:
Sanford)
County: 6
County: 1
Orange
County: 10
County: Yes
County: 5
County: 1
Wake
County: 15
County: No
Municipal: 12 (Public:
Apex, Cary, Garner, HS,
Knightdale, Raleigh, Wake
Forest, Zebulon
Private: FV, Morrisville,
Rolesville, Wendell)
County: 12
County: 1
- House Hold Hazardous Waste Centers
- School Recycling Programs
- Stop Junk Mail Program
- Swat-A-Litterbug Program
- Recycling Services: Tire, Electronics, Scrap
Metal, Appliance, Construction and
Demolition Waste
- Mulch and Compost Sales
- Hazardous Waste Collection
- Disposal for Household Garbage Recycling
- Salvage Sheds
- 24 hour drop off sites
- School Recycling Programs
- Roadside Litter Clean Up Programs
- Household Hazardous Waste Centers
- Backyard Compositing Program
- Electronics Recycling
County: No
Municipal: 2 (Public: Haw
River, Siler City)
Public versus Private MSW Disposal Services
There are several different combinations of public and private disposal services throughout the Triangle. All
counties in the Triangle offer multiple recycling centers, convenience centers (otherwise known as dumps) and a
landfill with public access for the disposal of specific goods. When it comes to curbside waste pick up, only Orange
and Durham counties offer this service, while Chatham, Johnston, Lee and Wake offer private and public services.
There
2 are seven municipalities throughout the Triangle that contract private disposal services. Interestingly enough
though, every municipality that has contracted services has curbside recycling as well. Evaluating if a county has
public recycling centers or curbside pick up, and subsequently and evaluation at the municipal level should recycling
not be offered at the county level, is interesting because it demonstrates the allocation of priorities and resources for
recycling programs in each county Triangle wide.
March 26, 2010
STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE TRIANGLE
Economic Benefits from Recycling
It is commonly stated that recycling costs more than disposal, but this has been
proven to be a myth. After full cost analysis of recycling versus disposal is completed, it
is apparent that operating a recycling program can cost less than a solid waste collection
and disposal program. Additionally, the higher the recycling rate, the more likely that
recycling program operations will be less expensive than solid waste collection and
disposal.
Waste Disposal Legislation
Effective October 1, 2009 the state of North Carolina has banned all rigid
plastic containers from landfills. This legislation developed in 2005, with its main focus
on the recovery of plastic bottles identified as number “1”. On top of implementing this
ban, the state will be inspecting landfills for these plastic bottles. In addition, there are
several items that have been banned from disposal at landfills via legislation: used oil,
yard trash, white goods, antifreeze, aluminum cans, tires, lead-acid batteries, beverage
containers, motor vehicle oil filters, wooden pallets and oyster shells. Legislation
banning these items comes with the implementation of county facilities for the
environmentally safe disposal of these items. Statewide legislation such as this positively
affects the capabilities of the Triangle to promote environmentally friendly waste
disposal practices.
How Waste Disposal Practices Connect People with Nature
Throughout the Triangle, waste disposal practices by county and municipal
governments demonstrate the extent of the Triangle’s capabilities to connect people with
nature as such practices show the intent and commitment to create progressive and
environmentally friendly behavior in waste disposal. It has been demonstrated that this
behavior is being promoted nationwide as tonnage of trash is going down while tonnage
of recycling is going up. And though the numbers are not available for all of the
Triangle, it is obvious that waste disposal practices in the Triangle could ultimately be
more environmentally friendly. Recycling practices are cited in this assessment because
it is proven that when full cost analysis is done, recycling programs are cheaper than
waste disposal programs, concluding that there are environmental and economic benefits
to recycling. Only two counties offer curbside recycling in the region, with only 12
municipalities offering public curbside recycling. Though there are private curbside
recycling programs offered through seven municipalities, not only are these programs
voluntary but also higher costs are incurred by the individual than if the program was
public, thus there is a disincentive to recycling in these municipalities. Regionwide data
on trash disposal versus recycling disposal rates, broken down by county, is needed for a
complete assessment on the full extent of the Triangle’s capabilities to promote and
create progressive and environmentally friendly behavior in waste disposal. As the
information demonstrates currently, the Triangle is on the right track offering a variety
of recycling services in each county, yet it has not reached the true extent of its
capabilities to connect people with nature by participation in environmentally friendly
waste disposal behavior.
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North Carolina
Solid Waste
Management
Plan
Goals of the the
management plan
1. Ensure long-term
environmental protection
by improving future
landfill technology and
addressing public health
and environmental
concerns associated with
closed landfills.
2. Substantially increase
the amount of waste
recycled and composted.
3. Reduce litter and
illegal disposal by 50
percent from 2003-2004
levels.
4. Implement policies and
procedures to provide
information to the public
and ensure public
participation throughout
the decision-making
process regarding waste
management facilities.
5. Create and continually
maintain 20 years of
landfill capacity in the
state.
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STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE TRIANGLE
March 26, 2010
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STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE TRIANGLE
March 26, 2010
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STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE TRIANGLE