Town and County Leaders Debate How to Pay for Recycling

Town and county leaders are coming closer to consensus on how to fund recycling pick-up.

Leaders from Hillsborough, Carrboro and Orange County agree all residents should pay a flat fee to fund recycling pick-up.

Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson says the $103 fee would apply to all developed properties throughout the county.

“This option presents, sort of, a new funding paradigm and a new way of viewing the solid waste program,” he says, “in that it eliminates any obvious division between rural and urban boundaries.

“And [it] reflects how our program is actually administered and operated, which is a fully integrated program. No more multi-tiered patchwork of fees.”

Town and county officials have agreed to collaborate on recycling. To do that, they will need to sign off on a funding plan by the end of April so the new fees can be incorporated into next year’s budget.

A Solid Waste Advisory Group made up of elected officials has been working for six months to bring two options to the table. One is a tiered option that charges urban households $94 and rural households $118. The other is a flat fee charged to all residents.

Both options would require the $1.85 million annually the county has already been allocating from its General Fund.

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt says if all households pay the same fee, residents of Chapel Hill will carry a heavier weight than other residents.

“35 percent of the fees that would be collected from the recycling fee, would be allocated to join that $1.8 million dollars to pay for all of the solid waste convenience centers,” he says. The convenience centers are all located in more rural areas of the county.

Kleinschmidt adds, “As a municipal resident, when I look at that I say, ‘Ok 35 percent of what I pay in recycling is going to go toward convenience centers.’ And, if you live in Chapel Hill, one half of that $1.8 million is coming from you and your neighbors.”

He did say that he believes there will, ultimately, be an agreement between all involved parties.

Regardless of which option the boards and council choose, the program would extend recycling pick-up to all homes in Orange County. Wilson told Commissioner Renee Price this can be done, despite challenges including long gravel driveways and small private roads.

Currently 700 low-income homeowners have their solid waste fees subsidized by the county. With the expansion of the recycling program to more rural areas, Board Chair Earl McKee says that number could go up.

“I expect that as you get out into the more rural areas, you will have more elderly who are [on a] very limited income and more who are financially stressed,” he says.

Commissioners on Tuesday agreed they favor the flat rate, but left room to negotiate with Chapel Hill.

All parties will discuss the plan at next week’s Assembly of Governments.