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Starting this Thursday, N.C. is outlawing plastic bottles in landfills. But recycling rangers likely won't bust you.
By Lynn Bonner, charlotteobserver.com, Sept. 28, 2009
Public service announcements, fliers, and corporate-gift cards are all aimed at getting N.C. households to comply with a state law kicking in Thursday that bans plastic bottles from landfills.
But don't look for the trash cops if soda bottles end up in your garbage cans.
"That's not the spirit of the law," said Scott Mouw, the state's recycling director. "Clearly, this is more of a law of spirit or intent, everyone recognizing the positive reasons to recycle."
State enforcement efforts will be targeted at haulers who show up at landfills with loads of banned material. Most local governments don't have the power or the interest in dogging residents who don't recycle.
Charlotte's Solid Waste Services department does not conduct enforcement, spokeswoman Brandi Williams said. "It's a state law, so it is on them to enforce it," Williams said.
Charlotte offers a volunteer recycling program in which households place certain items in red bins and workers collect them weekly. Workers who pick up recycling sort the plastic, metal and paper at the curb.
Starting next July in Charlotte, recycling will be collected every other week, instead of weekly. The city is trading the red recycling bins for larger rolling containers similar to its trash cans. Workers will dump everything into trucks, and the plastic-metal-paper sorting will be at an automated facility.
The move is part of a plan to save about $26 million over 10 years.
Without enforcement efforts, though, North Carolina's embrace of recycling has been more of a half-hug.
North Carolina missed a 10-year recycling goal it set back in 1991 for reducing trash disposal. In fact, more trash went to landfills, not less. Garbage disposal went from 1.01 tons per person in 1992 to 1.21 tons per person by June 2001.
The state now has a new goal: Recycle 2 million tons of bottles, cans, and other materials each year by 2012. N.C. residents currently recycle about 1.3 million tons a year.
The state recycles fewer than one in five bottles, Mouw said, and he's sure that rate can go up.
One of the state's new tactics to persuade people to keep plastic out of the trash is to focus on the empty bottles as a raw material for the state recycling industry. The state has plants that are a step in the manufacturing chain that turns used bottles into new bottles and other materials. The largest plastics recycling plant in the nation is to open in Fayetteville next year.
Though state law bars specific materials from landfills - such as aluminum cans, big appliances and tires - recycling practices vary across the state and are largely governed by local ordinance.
Some communities, such as Orange County and Cary, constantly add items to their list of recyclables, while other localities make a more limited effort.
Orange County, which includes Hillsborough and Chapel Hill, recycled more plastic per person than any other county last year, according to state figures. Orange residents recycled about 29.5 pounds of plastic bottles per person in 2007-08.
Pamlico County was the next closest with 14.8 pounds per person. The state average was 3.8 pounds per person.
"People across the county have a really high recycling ethic," said Blair Pollock, Orange County's solid waste planner.
Four counties didn't collect plastic for recycling. Some of the state's municipalities - Kannapolis being the largest - don't have curbside recycling, Mouw said.
Katie Burdett, who wrote about plastics recycling as a requirement for her master's in public administration from UNC Chapel Hill this year, said the state would need to require recycling and develop an enforcement strategy to maximize the ban's impact.
Local communities' recycling success largely depends on the commitment of those in charge of running it, said Burdett, who interned in the state recycling office. Communities that do best have someone whose sole job it is to encourage recycling, keep in touch with major garbage producers and watch the recycling markets, she said.
Charlotte Observer staff writer Fred Clasen-Kelly contributed.
Friday, February 12, 2010
New law: They don't take plastic
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Where To Take Thanksgiving Cooking Oil?
The green way to dispose of used cooking oil
Charlotte Energy Solutions, is accepting used cooking oil for recycling purposes.
Drop it off at our location day or night.
337 Baldwin Ave.
Charlotte, NC 28204
(704) 333-4358 or mark@charlotteenergysolutions.com
Thinking of making fried turkey this Thanksgiving? Thousands of Charlotteans do each year and some would argue it's the only way to go, but clean-up can be troublesome. Luckily, there are many options for how to dispose of the remaining cooking oil.
Cooking oils can usually be used multiple times when used for deep-frying. Simply strain the left-over oil to remove any batter pieces or other debris, place the oil in a clean, sealable plastic container and use it again.
Small amounts of cooking oil can also be combined with organic materials for composting, or soaked into shredded paper and discarded in the trash.
With 3 to 5 gallons of cooking oil, however, it isn't practical to simply toss it into the trash -- and forget about pouring it down the drain!
Cooking oil and grease poured down drains can build up in pipes causing backups at home, in municipal water systems, and wreak havoc on sewage treatment. Dumping into a storm drain is even worse, because all that grime will flow directly into lakes, rivers and oceans and pollute natural habitats.
Instead, large quantities of oil can be recycled and turned into other products -- including biodiesel fuel.
We are centrally located near downtown Charlotte between the two hospitals at
Charlotte Energy Solutions
337 Baldwin Ave,
Charlotte, NC 28204
(704) 333-4358
mark@charlotteenergysolutions.com
www.CharlotteEnergySolutions.com
Carolina Green FoodService Supply - Biodegradable, compostable, & sustainable foodservice packaging & restaurant supplies.
http://carolinagreensupply.com
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Governor Perdue Announces Reforms to Strengthen Green Economy
Office Of Bev Perdue, Press Release, May 21, 2009
Governor Bev Perdue today announced her energy reform package to attract businesses, create jobs and promote a strong and sustainable green economy in North Carolina. She made the announcement at the SAS Solar Farm in Cary, which provides solar-generated power to Progress Energy.
“Developing our green economy is a cornerstone of my vision for North Carolina’s economic future,” Gov. Perdue said. “Creating green jobs and businesses is a key part of my JobsNOW initiative, and the energy reforms I am implementing will lay the foundation for North Carolina to lead the nation in green energy.”
Gov. Perdue’s energy plan refocuses state energy policymaking, makes strategic investments in North Carolina’s green economy and increases green-collar workforce development.
“The state that gets green right will own the next 50 years,” Gov. Perdue said. “I intend for North Carolina to be that state.”
Governor Perdue’s energy plan:* Relocate the State Energy Office and state weatherization program to the Department of Commerce: The weatherization program will be transferred to the State Energy Office from the Department of Health and Human Services. The State Energy Office will be transferred to the Department of Commerce from the Department of Administration, and will be led by a new energy advisor. Establishing the Department of Commerce as the home for state energy policy will improve coordination across programs to deliver these services more efficiently and effectively.
* Reinvigorate the Energy Policy Council: The plan reduces the number of council members and improves representation for environmental groups, alternative energy producers and energy services specialists. The council will work with the State Energy Office and the energy advisor to help create a comprehensive energy policy that encompasses renewable energy and energy efficiency and that uses existing energy assets wisely.
* Establish an Energy Investment Revolving Loan Fund: With $18 million in federal recovery monies, this innovative fund will provide low- and no-interest loans to finance energy-saving projects at businesses, local governments, non-profits, state agencies, community colleges, universities and public schools. The loans will be awarded for up to $1 million. The fund will extend the scope of federal recovery funds and will ensure that these funds continue to support the state’s commitment to renewable energy and energy efficiency well into the future.
* Expand the Green Business Fund: $10 million in federal recovery funds will be used to expand the Green Business Fund, which Gov. Perdue led the drive to create in 2007. The fund awards competitive grants to North Carolina businesses and organizations with innovative projects in biofuels, green construction, environmentally friendly technology and renewable energy products.
* Grow North Carolina’s green workforce: Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative will provide green-collar jobs training and retraining in community colleges. As part of JobsNOW, the governor will use nearly $7 million in federal recovery funds to develop a program in universities, community colleges and workforce agencies that will meet the training and workforce needs of the emerging green economy.
* Invest federal recovery monies for other energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in small businesses, communities and homes across North Carolina: Other investments using federal recovery funds include $12 million to support energy savings and renewable energy initiatives in small businesses and industries, $58 million for energy and efficiency block grants to cities, counties and tribes, and $12 million for energy efficiency audits and improvements for new and existing homes, among others.
N.C. Senate passes plastic bag ban
UPI.com, May 14, 2009
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A bill aimed at encouraging reusable cloth bags in coastal North Carolina has passed the state Senate with only one dissenting vote.
The measure would ban larger stores, those with 5,000 square feet or more of floor space, from giving shoppers plastic bags, The Raleigh News & Observer reported. They would be allowed to use bags made from recycled paper.
The bill would apply to Dare, Hyde and Currituck counties, which include the Outer Banks and the mainland on the other side of the inland waterway. But backers say they hope to extend the ban to the entire state if it is effective along the coast.
Senate President Marc Basnight, a Democrat who represents Dare County, said plastic bags are littering the landscape on the Outer Banks.
San Francisco is the only place in the country so far to ban plastic bags, although a number of other jurisdictions have adopted or are considering laws aimed at discouraging their use.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Contact Us
Carolina Green FoodService Supply
phone: (888) 345-9273
fax: (704) 780-1587
email: info@carolinagreensupply.com
website: http://carolinagreensupply.com
blog: http://greenbiodegradable.blogspot.com
address: 337 Baldwin Ave.
Charlotte, NC 28204
