Durham Strategic Plan Dashboard
Prosperity
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Complete/Ongoing
Initiative: 5.33 Explore new services to help divert more waste
Thriving & Vibrant Environment
Description
Waste diversion describes redirecting waste from landfills to some other point through options like reduction, reuse, repurposing, composting, or recycling. Diverting waste has significant environmental benefits over landfilling. Additionally, there are an estimated 20-25 years left in the current “airspace” (measured in cubic yards) of the landfill that Durham uses. As space continues to fill, landfilling costs will likely continue to rise and diversion options could become more financially advantageous, as well as environmentally preferable.
Key Measures & Data Analysis
Durham’s waste diversion rate has remained relatively steady over the past year. However, we recognize that there is room for improvement—particularly as we continue to address contamination levels in the recycling stream, which have a significant negative impact on overall diversion performance.
To guide future progress, we are in the process of revising our waste diversion goal. This updated target will be informed by the results of the forthcoming Waste Characterization Study, which will provide a clearer picture of the materials entering our waste stream and opportunities for enhanced recovery and reuse.
Contamination in recycling remains one of the most critical barriers to higher diversion. To address this, we continue to invest in public education and behavior change through the Recycle Right Campaign and related outreach initiatives. These efforts are designed to reduce contamination, improve material quality, and ultimately raise the diversion rate.
With new data on the horizon and continued community engagement, we anticipate measurable improvement in the coming year as we work toward a more sustainable and efficient waste management system.
Impact of service expansion
Why is it important?
Exploring new services to divert more waste proactively is a beneficial and effective approach to stave off the inevitable. Currently, we send valuable resources to the landfill. Developing new services and markets, as well as fully and properly utilizing those that currently exist, will ensure that materials are used to their fullest potential, creating economic and environmental benefits for impacted communities. For example, reducing and diverting food waste creates the value-added material, compost, that can be beneficially used and sold locally, while saving space and reducing the amount of emissions from landfills.
What have we been doing?
Staff have expanded community composting and organics diversion services through seasonal collection events and partnerships — while planning infrastructure improvements to increase long-term diversion capacity.
Key activities include:
• Hosting Fall Pumpkin Drop events for free drop-offs at the Waste Disposal and Recycling Center (WD&RC) and in partnership with Lowe's and Home Depot for drop-offs at their retail locations, providing residents with additional drop-off locations. Approximately 1.7 tons of pumpkins were dropped off at these locations, all of which were composted at the WD&RC.
• As with the pumpkin drop-off events, the department hosted Christmas Tree Drop events in January, again in partnership with Lowe's and Home Depot to provide residents with more drop-off options.
• Managing the WD&RC — which received 51,070 visits — and collecting 7,441 recycling tons curbside and diverting 36.09 tons of food waste from the landfill.
• Advancing planning for the Transfer Station 1 and the Yard Waste Facility project to increase long-term diversion infrastructure capacity. Returning TS1 to service will allow for receipt of materials to be diverted from disposal and modifications and improvements to be made at the Yard Waste Facility will allow processing and composting of yard waste and food waste, once construction and permitting is complete.
What's next?
Efforts to expand organics collection and waste diversion services will continue through the following activities:
• Compost Awareness Week – Planning and executing Compost Awareness Week outreach and education.
• Backyard Composting Expansion – Continuing education programs and compost bin sales.
• Organics Recycling Partnerships – Exploring additional partnerships to grow organics diversion capacity.
• Transfer Station 1 and Yard Waste Facility Improvements – Advertising and awarding the construction bid for Transfer Station 1 and the Yard Waste Facility before year-end.
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