A solid waste meeting Thursday at the Moore County Public Works drew no members of the public and four officials, something Public Works Director Marcus Jones viewed positively.
"Well, I'll take it as a good sign," Jones said at the meeting. "The public is satisfied with solid waste and the way it's being handled."
The meeting was one of the three-year updates required by the county's 10-year comprehensive solid waste management plan, created in 1997 in response to the state's drive to make waste management a local issue. At the 2003 update, five or six attended the meeting.
Ed Shuffler of Oliver Incorporated, who presented the update, reported that, while waste reduction is slowing in Moore County, it still is on the right side of the trend, with a 3 percent decrease from the 1991-1992 baseline-year figures.
"We were actually disposing of more waste per person per year (at one point)," Shuffler said. "We're hitting the goals now."
For the fiscal year 2004-2005, the county disposed of 95,034 tons of waste for a population of 79,342 and a 1.20 per capita rate. In 1991-1992, the per capita rate was 1.23.
Last year, the county managed 113,140 tons of solid waste, which includes everything from sheets of paper to trees felled by strong winds.
Residential waste comprised the largest amount of waste managed at 45,300 tons, followed by non-residential at 37,400 tons and construction and demolition waste at 30,400 tons. Shuffler attributed a 2 percent decrease in non-residential and an increase in construction and demolition waste to some businesses leaving the area.
While the county is not reducing its waste at as high a rate as in the past, Shuffler said, the plan makes allowances for tighter budgets that may have cut back on initiatives to reduce waste, such as recycling programs.
"Recycling programs are taking it on the chin as budgets are getting tight," he said.
According to Shuffler, municipalities must compensate for cramped budgets by emphasizing other options, such as the county's recycling program.
"We're down now to where it's basically Aberdeen, Southern PInes and Pinehurst that have recyling programs," he said. "But as we've gone around, we've continued to remind other municipalities that the county's program is something they need to encourage their citizens to use."
The plan sets a goal of a 1 percent decrease in waste for 2005-2006, but meeting future goals will require commitment from the municipalities. The plan calls for a 5 percent waste reduction for 2012-2013 and an 8 percent reduction for 2015-2016.
"We're going to have to pretty much reduce the amount of tonnage going into the landfills by about 5,563 (tons) by 2012," Shuffler said.
The four tenets of the plan are to increase recycling, reuse and reduction; decrease improper waste disposal; protect public health and the environment; and educate the community on proper solid waste management and available waste disposal options.
Mulling options for waste reduction, Shuffler mentioned but quickly passed over the possibility of an incinerator in Moore County.
"Right now, I think that's not something feasible for the county to look at," he said. "The one thing that generally drives waste energy is having good energy users near it, and Moore County generally is losing that kind of user."
The only incinerator operating in North Carolina now is in New Hanover County.
Some of the county's initiatives include targeting education through newsletters and Keep Moore County Beautiful; purchasing recycled products; and preparing a disaster response plan, which sets aside acreage for trash disposal in times of emergency.
The county had about 2,000 tons more waste than on average after last year's tornado. The debris produced by storms, whether ice, snow or thunder, contributes to waste totals.
The three-year updates are intended to provide the opportunity for the public to weigh in on the plan. But because no one from the public was in attendance, Shuffler said the county would forge ahead with the plan.
"The next thing we'll do is we've sent the draft plan out to the municipalities," he said. "We'll be getting feedback from them."
After that, the plan will be sent to the state.
Kirsten Beattie, an intern from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, can be reached at (919) 619-4327.
