1. City of Durham Solid Waste Management
Patricia Fossum
City of Durham
Assistant Solid Waste Manager

2. City Collection Services Background
City population of ~ 252,000
~ 103,220 housing units
~ 61.4% single-family (SF)
~ 38.6% multi-family (MF)
Weekly curbside collection of trash and bulky items from all SF units & MF up to and including 4 units
Bi-weekly collection of recyclable materials from all SF units & MF up to and including 4 units
Subscriber based (~ 19,500) weekly collection of yard waste from SF units
Small generator commercial from carts
Downtown loop collection of front-end containers (“dumpsters”)

3. Recycling Composition Study
Approximately 58% of the recycling stream consists of paper and fiber products. The largest portion being mixed paper at approximately 24%.
Plastics make up the smallest portion by weight of the recycling composition at 13%.
Glass makes up approximately 12% of recycling stream by weight.
Contaminants including plastic film, made up approximately 12% of the recycling stream and is under the 13% contract limits.
Fiber Products %
Newspaper
12.5%
Corrugated cardboard
20.6%
Mixed paper
23.9%
Aseptic containers
0.6%
Fiber Products total:
57.6%
Plastics
#1 PET
5.6%
#1 Non-bottle PET containers
0.8%
#2 Natural HDPE bottles
1.8%
#2 Colored HDPE bottles
#2 Non-bottle HDPE containers
0.3%
#3-#7 Plastic containers
1.3%
Bulky rigid plastics
1.1%
Expanded Polystyrene
Plastics total:
13.3%
Other Recyclables
Glass containers
12.2%
Aluminum cans
2.1%
Other Aluminum
0.2%
Tin/steel cans
2.3%
Scrap metals
0.1%
Other Recyclables total:
16.9%
Contaminants
7.2%
Grit
2.4%
Liquids
0.5%
Plastic film
Contaminants Total:

4. Single Family MSW Composition Study
Approximately 28% of single-family residential waste consists of fiber products (17.7%) and containers (10.0%) that are currently accepted in the City’s existing recycling program
Organics comprises the largest area for new waste diversion at approximately 30% of the single family waste stream. Food waste (18.1%) and low-grade paper (10.4%) make up the largest portion of organics.
Textiles (used clothing, etc.) offer a significant diversion opportunity at 10% of single family waste
Fiber products
Newspaper
1.4%
Corrugated cardboard
2.9%
Office paper
2.5%
Other recyclable paper
10.6%
Aseptic containers
0.3%
Fiber Products total:
17.7%
Containers
#1 PET
1.9%
#2 HDPE
0.9%
#1 & #2 Non-bottle plastic containers
#3-#7 plastic containers
1.6%
Bulky rigid plastics
Tin/steel cans
Aluminum cans
0.7%
Glass containers
2.1%
Containers total:
10.0%
Compostable Materials
Low-grade paper
10.4%
Clean wood waste
Yard waste
Food waste
18.1%
Compostable Materials total:
30.1%
Other Materials
Non-rigid plastic film (bags, etc.)
7.6%
Expanded polystyrene (foam)
All other plastics
White goods/small appliances
0.4%
Ferrous metals (steel, iron)
0.5%
Non-ferrous metals (aluminum, copper, etc.)
0.6%
Other glass (windows, mirrors, etc.)
Textiles
Special wastes (hazardous household items)
0.2%
Electronics
Household batteries
0.0%
Treated wood
2.2%
C&D debris
Tires & rubber
Other garbage
12.6%
Liquids
1.2%
Grit
Other Materials total:
42.4%

5. Current Projects Reduced Residential Trash Cart Size
Reduction in cart size from 96 gallons to 65 gallons for Exempt customers, and newly constructed homes to encourage greater capture of recyclables currently being disposed.
Increased Education and Outreach Campaigns
Re-branding of the recycling program. Created new and fresh advertising for residential education.
Recycling cart hangers delivered with every new cart. Gives new residents information on acceptable and unacceptable materials in the recycling program, while also providing information on collection times and drop off locations.
Television Commercial ran on Time Warner cable for 9 weeks, with a reach of 950,000 triangle residents.
Re-Use Rodeo
To be held in conjunction with one of our E-waste and Shredding events that occur once every 3 months.
5 participating non-profits on site to accept clothing, furniture, appliances, baby items, books, and art supplies.
Offers residents an opportunity to donate material at a “One Stop Shop” and allows for higher diversion of material from the landfill.

6. Re-Branding the Program

7. Re-Branding the Program

8. Proposed Future Projects
Demonstration Organics Composting
Proposed to begin a Demonstration Composting Program.
Accept commercial pre and post-consumer food wastes.
Establish a small residential collection of food waste in existing yard waste carts.
Full scale Organics Composting
Obtain Type 4 permit to compost waste water sewage sludge, food wastes, and yard wastes.
Commercial food waste
Residential food waste collection in yard waste bins to approximately 20,000 yard waste subscribers.

9. QUESTIONS?