North Carolina Piles Up More Trash Despite Recycling Efforts
By Jeff Hampton, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
May 6–Counties in northeastern North Carolina generated more trash per person than the state average in 2005 and 2006, with much of it coming from construction debris.
Meanwhile, trash volumes rose statewide in spite of recycling efforts, filling landfills faster than expected, according to an annual state report released last week. The report includes trash volumes produced by each county.
More than a ton of trash for each North Carolinian went to landfills from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, 5 percent more than the year before, according to the report.
People still aren’t recycling enough, said Paul Crissman, chief of the Solid Waste Section of the North Carolina Division of Waste Management.
“All you have to do is go to the landfill and do a windshield survey to see the amount of material that could be recycled,” he said.
A bill in the General Assembly would ramp up restrictions on new landfills, increasing construction costs. The state declared a moratorium on new landfills last year after at least four solid waste sites, including one in Camden County, were proposed to receive large volumes of out-of-state trash.
Dare, Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Gates, Perquimans and Chowan counties each generated more trash than they did five years ago. In the fiscal year 2005-06, those counties generated 1.6 tons of trash per person compared to 1.4 tons statewide, according to state charts.
Dare County leads the region in trash volume, but much of it comes from construction and the tourism season, said Edward Mann, public works director for Dare County. Dare County generated 99,299 tons of trash in fiscal year 2005-06.
“If they stop building then it’ll slow down,” he said. “But we don’t want that.”
Dare County has led the state in recycling per capita, he said.
North Carolina’s 40 permitted municipal landfills have about 20 years of capacity left at the current rate of receiving 7.9 million tons annually, the report said. That does not include construction debris.
East Carolina Regional Landfill in Bertie County, which receives solid waste from all seven northeastern counties, has 24 years of capacity left, state charts show.
But as the amount of trash increases each year, landfills could have shorter life spans than expected.
“I foresee we’re going to need more landfills to take care of North Carolina waste,” said Mike Etheridge, solid waste director for Pasquotank County. “It’s one of those necessary evils.”
Pasquotank County had the region’s lowest rate of increase in trash volume, at 18.8 percent over the past five years, despite having the area’s largest town. Camden County rates grew the most at 67.2 percent, but the county has generated the least amount of trash in the region since 2002.
Other findings from the report include:
— North Carolina’s landfills received 10.7 million tons of solid waste, including construction debris, during fiscal year 2005- 06. Approximately 137,000 tons originated from other states, an increase of more than 18,000 tons from the previous year.
— North Carolina continued to export more waste than it imported. More than 1.2 million tons of waste were exported in fiscal year 2005- 06 compared to 137,980 tons imported.
— The amount of construction and demolition waste has increased three times faster than the amount of municipal waste.
— Reach Jeff Hampton at 252-338-0159 or jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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