Orange County

As Terri Buckner describes in her commentary in yesterday's Chapel Hill News, we could be seeing the end, as we know it, of our very successful recycling program in Orange County.

Some will say that since the county has already privatized recycling in the urban areas, this proposed expansion to county residents should not create any concerns. But if all recycling in Orange County is privatized, the current system is effectually dead, including all the outreach and education, the goodwill recycling and composting at public events like Hog Day, the dedicated staff constantly seeking new markets, and the service to both school systems that has always been handled by the county. In other words, we'll be left with the same kind of recycling program that everyone else in the state has.

In 1997 as part of the state's required plan, we adopted a goal of 61 percent waste reduction. We're just a smidgeon away from achieving that goal (59 percent). We've accomplished something amazing, something worth fighting to protect.

One of the positive economic development efforts by Orange County in conjuction with Alamance, Chatham, and Durham Counties is the Piedmont Food Processing Center. As it's website says its "A business incubator for food entrepreneurs and farmers in the Piedmont Region to add value to local farm products and create new local food businesses." Today they announced that a manager for the Center has been hired. See the press release below for more information.