Orange County Launches Single-Stream Recycling

NOTE: The following was released by Orange County Solid Waste Management. For more information, call (919) 968-2788 or e-mail recycling@co.orange.nc.us.
 
Starting the first week in July, residents and businesses in Orange County will no longer have to divide their recycling into separate containers.

All paper, magazines, newspaper, phonebooks, cartons and junk mail can be commingled with plastic bottles and jugs, metal cans, aluminum trays and foil, glass bottles and jars at the curb, in carts and at drop-off sites.
 
This system of recycling — commonly referred to as “single stream” — will make recycling easier and more convenient for residents and businesses, while also saving trips and reducing lifting strain for recycling collection staff. Recycling trucks won’t fill as fast because everything now will go into one compartment, reducing transportation costs.

The technical sorting capability at recycling processing facilities — known as “material recovery facilities or MRFs — has improved greatly, using a combination of automated equipment and manual labor. A wide range of commingled materials now can be efficiently separated and processed to achieve high-value marketable commodities. 
 
Residents still can recycle corrugated cardboard at the curb. The same rules apply as in two-stream: 10 or fewer boxes that are 3 feet by 3 feet or less may be recycled each collection day. Empty and flatten boxes, and place the cardboard on top of, below or next to your bin unless you can fit them in the bin.
 
Businesses, apartment dwellers and other multifamily site residents with recycling collected in blue county-owned carts still need to recycle their cardboard separately in a designated bin or at a recycling drop-off location.
 
Informational recycling decals gradually will be replaced at all apartment complex and commercial cart sites.

Anyone with questions, comments or concerns is encouraged to contact the Solid Waste Management Administrative Office at (919) 968-2788 or recycling@co.orange.nc.us.

Holiday Reminder

Curbside recycling in Hillsborough will be collected as normally scheduled on Wednesday, July 4. Place recycling bins at the curb by 7 a.m. to ensure prompt collection.

Town of Hillsborough offices will be closed Wednesday. Residential garbage normally scheduled for collection on Wednesday will be collected Thursday, July 5. Residents should place rollout carts at the curb between 7 p.m. the day before and 6 a.m. the day of collection.

The Orange County Landfill and all associated services — such as mulch sales and the Household Hazardous Waste Collection — will be closed July 4. The Orange County solid waste convenience centers and the administrative office also will be closed. Normal hours will resume Thursday.