waste transfer station
Last night, the Orange County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to set June 30, 2013, as the closing date of the county’s municipal waste landfill, and to pursue a costly interlocal agreement to ship our trash to Durham’s waste transfer station.
There has been a lot going on and I can scarcely find a moment to blog about it. Maybe in 6 years when my son starts school and I don't have to work to pay for daycare so I can work so I can... where was I? Oh yeah, so last night three important things happened in local government - we took 2 steps forward and one step back for social justice.
1. The Orange County Commissioners rejected both door number one (a new, expanded landfill) and door number two (a waste transfer station). Instead they will be shipping our trash to Durham, an idea which I never years in literally years of debate about this issue. In any case, this seems to be a huge victory for the historically African-American Rogers Road neighborhood, which has shouldered Orange County's landfill for nearly four decades and which is ready to move on the the next phase of their lives, that is: not being neighbors to any major waste handling facilities.
Been reading for awhile, this is my first blog post on this forum ...
If you have driven down Millhouse Road in the last couple of days you may have noticed the signs opposing the siting of the Waste Transfer Station. When the CH Town Council decided not to offer the pie-shaped slice of land near the Town Operations Center many of us who live, work, or send our kids to school in that area breathed a sigh of relief. But we also knew that Orange County had their sights on a second property ...
I don’t think anybody in Orange County is happy that we are planning to send our trash over the horizon to a giant landfill in some poor God-forsaken community.
I don’t think our county leadership is happy about becoming beholden to a giant waste corporation that will have us by the short hairs when they want to raise the hauling rates somewhere down the road. And you don’t have to be psychic to know that fuel costs are only going to rise.
The current plans for a transfer station harness us to an unethical and increasingly expensive boondoggle. Our best bet is to avoid getting hooked into this unpredictable system by siting our own landfill in Orange County.
First, we have to adjust our perspective and realize that solid waste represents an economic opportunity. The waste stream provides many materials that have a useful purpose. Plus we’ll save money over the long run by avoiding the inevitable price hikes from waste businesses and fuel cost escalation.
You can't turn your back on the BOCC for a second. The Rogers/Eubanks community is back in the mix for the Transfer Station. As I have said previously the fight for environmental justice is far from over and vigilance is required. What is Foy thinking? And Jacobs was the original Sassaman buddy so Jacob's position is no surprise.
My heart goes out Reverend Campbell and Neloa Jones. Just as it appears that they are approaching the top of the mountain, voila, there is another vertical cliff to scale.
From the OrangeChat blog:
UPDATE: Preserve Rural Orange HAS POSTPONED tonight's meeting on plans for a solid waste transfer station due to the weather.
The meeting is NOW scheduled for 7 p.m. SUNDAY MARCH 15 at the White
Cross Recreation Center, 1800 White Cross Road west of Carrboro.
Speakers include Orange County Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson. At
citizens' urging, the county is now looking at alternatives to a
transfer station such as hiring a contractor to haul trash to another
area outside the county and possibly exploring waste to energy
technology, although offiicals have previously said the county did not
generate enough trash to make that feasible.
Date:
Sunday, March 15, 2009 - 3:00pm
Location:
White Cross Recreation Center, 1800 White Cross Road
Thursday, December 11, marks a dark moment in Orange County’s history. At the County Commissioners’ meeting that night, all the attending Commissioners, except one, voted to pursue the placement of a Waste Transfer Station in the heart of Orange County’s farming district and alongside the Cane Creek Reservoir.
Among other things on the County Commissioners agenda tonight the siting of the proposed waste transfer station. John Rees, an avid cyclist who lives in Dogwood Acres, is there and posting updates via Twitter. Here are his updated posts in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest):
The Board of County Comissioners finally has seen fit to not included Eubanks Road in the narrowed list of proposed sites for the transfer station. While it ain't over till it's over, this is most welcome news. It looks like the BOCC has made strides in redemption by coming down this time for social and environmental justice.
The fight that the Rogers/Eubanks road community has waged for their neighborhood now has victory in their sights and with that victory will come a victory for the soul of Orange County. This has been a struggle that has taken decades.
Special kudos go to Reverend Robert Campbell and Neloa Jones for showing the perseverance and fortitude to make their case time and time again and lead their community against the odds. It proves that community activism and participation can make a real difference and overcome what at times seem like a never-ending series of obstacles.
However, vigilance is still required.
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