Statement to the Board of County Commissioners

On the Waste Transfer Station (Agenda Item 6A)

By Orange County Voice
January 22, 2009

I’m Bonnie Hauser, speaking on behalf of Orange County Voice.

You are already aware that many citizens are firmly against siting an industrial waste transfer station in a rural residential area and in direct contradiction to the County’s comprehensive plan. Tonight, I’d like to talk about an economically feasible alternative – using a leading waste management vendor.

This information is based on a report that was provided to each of you on January 4th . It suggested that the County can save millions of taxpayer dollars if we use vendors rather than building and operating our own waste transfer station. Minimally, these vendors can provide an interim waste management solution until the county firms up its own long term plan.

Here’s what our report said.

Three leading vendors operate transfer stations in Durham with prices that range from $40 to $50 a ton. Based on our estimates, that’s $10 to $20 a ton less than it will cost Orange County to build and operate its own facility. It doesn’t sound like much, but at 240 tons a day and 312 days a year, that’s a savings of $750,000 to $1.5 million a year - which would pay for many things -- including the long-promised services and amenities for the Roger’s Road community

One of the reasons the vendor costs are so much lower, is that their transfer stations cost much less to build -- between $1 and $2 million (versus the $7-10 million that’s estimated for ours). Also -- since they handle much larger volumes – their day to day operating costs, per ton, are significantly lower.

A point worth mentioning, If we retain a vendor, no new facilities would have to be built. The vendors have confirmed capacity to serve us for 20 years or more. So in addition to saving millions of dollars, we can avoid irreparable damage to the rural community and not be distracted by an unnecessary capital project.

The vendors are ready and waiting to offer formal or informal proposals to Orange County. All we have to do is ask. They can offer contracts ranging from 6 months to several years and some have offered to allow us to pilot their services on a trial basis.

Please realize that our report only discusses costs and services for waste disposal – that is the transfer station plus long distance hauling and disposal into a landfill. Curbside garbage pickup at homes and businesses would continue to be handled by the municipalities and vendors. As you know, vendors already handle about half of the curbside garbage pickup though out the county.

We can’t say whether vendors are right for Orange County for the long term -- but they certainly offer flexibility, quality and cost effective service – on an interim basis - at least until we sort through our options for better sites and a sustainable solution for the long term, such as waste to energy

Here’s our report for the record. We would be happy to review our findings ----with county staff and help in any way that we can.

So in closing, we all agree that resources are limited, money is tight and there is much to do, Orange County cannot afford to get sidetracked building an expensive, interim waste transfer station that we don’t need. We have better alternatives.

So please, let‘s move quickly and decisively to find the best vendor to handle our waste for now, and focus our attention on a finding a sustainable waste management solution for the long term.

Thank you-