“What we as citizens can do now to minimize the number of plastic bags that end up in the landfill is to deposit our plastic bags at various stores that provide bins for this purpose.”
Tag: Buncombe County Landfill
Showing 1-17 of 17 results
Waste reduction and smart design help extend landfill life
Landfills tend to fall in the “out of sight, out of mind” category — unless you’re living next to one. But Buncombe County’s recent move to prepare additional landfill space for both construction and municipal debris is a reminder that such facilities have a finite life.
Buncombe to reconsider mask mandate Feb. 15
Buncombe County’s current indoor mask mandate has been extended three times after going into effect Aug. 18. Robert Pressley, the only Republican on the Board of Commissioners, has thus far been the only member opposed in any of those votes.
Talking trash: As Asheville grows, its waste does too
All signs indicate that the area’s growth isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. Making good on waste-reduction goals has become significantly harder with more people entering the equation, but local waste management teams say that just means it’s time to double down on their efforts.
County clarifies Waste Pro service changes
Dane Pedersen, Buncombe County’s solid waste director, said many residents were confused over what would be included in the $19.21 monthly service fee. He explained that the cost covers the required rental of two containers from Waste Pro, one for trash and one for recycling, as well as weekly trash pickup and recycling collection every two weeks.
Fee increases on county commissioners’ Sept. 17 agenda
Building permits and inspections, birth control through county Health and Human Services and disposal of solid waste are all slated to become more expensive in Buncombe County’s newly proposed fee schedule. The Board of Commissioners will vote on the new fees during its regular meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17, in room 326 at 200 College St.
Asheville seeks new approach to water treatment sludge
Last October, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality placed stricter controls on what outside materials MSD could accept, thus barring the plant from taking Asheville’s treatment residuals. The city’s current plan is to landfill the sludge in Buncombe County and Concord, N.C. — at over 2 1/2 times the cost of its previous disposal arrangement.
Letter: Slim down food waste at landfill
“A common misconception people have is that food waste composts in the landfill, but due to its anaerobic environment, food almost mummifies, taking years, sometimes decades, to break down.”
Buncombe County looks for ways to extend life of landfill
Buncombe County has used about a third of the total 12.5 million cubic yards of space available to receive municipal solid waste, which the department tracks separately from waste produced by construction projects. At its construction and demolition landfill, which sits on the same property but is sorted separately, the county still has about 1.3 million cubic yards of fillable space out of a maximum capacity of about 2.4 million.
Letter: Steps toward 100 percent renewable energy
“What could be better than using waste to generate the energy we need and saving money in the process?”
Road to recovery: WNC addresses food waste with a regional summit
The recent Regional Food Waste Summit at Warren Wilson College provided a forum for Western North Carolina nonprofits, businesses, educational institutions and individuals to hash out the realities of the local food waste conundrum.
The consequence of waste: Buncombe’s discarded problem is piling up
From the Get It! Guide: A close look at the trash collected in Asheville was shocking — 26 percent of our waste is compostable matter, 18 percent is recyclable and 56 percent is true waste, fit only for the landfill. With the city alone producing over 22,000 tons of trash a year, what is the cost of all that waste. And what is it going to take for us to reduce it?
Energy goes local
Why invest in local energy? That’s like asking why choose a local, organic apple over a Snickers bar. Sure, they’re both sweet and satisfying, but the candy, packed with additives and produced industrially by a large corporation, has long-term health consequences — few of them good. Buying the locally grown apple, on the other hand, […]
Waste not
Backyard gardeners have been doing it for decades: composting eggshells, apple peels and other food wastes, reducing their solid waste stream in the process. But what about large-scale local food services?
Buncombe landfill recycles mattresses
Bring your tired, your poor ol’ mattresses to the Buncombe County Landfill. The Solid Waste folks out there have come up with a way of keeping them out of the waste stream and taking up our limited landfill space.
Where even the landfills are green
A group of camera-toting travelers breezed through Western North Carolina recently, but they weren’t looking to capture stunning Parkway views. Instead, they took a whirlwind tour of our local dumping grounds.
A trashy tug of war
An uninspiring pile of construction-and-demolition debris sits waiting to be covered with dirt at the Buncombe County landfill. A closer look reveals chunks of brick, shingles, twisted sheets of metal, plywood, gypsum board and other materials — about 80 percent of which could be recycled, observes General Services Director Bob Hunter, surveying the rubble. That’s […]