NHC Landfill to be filled within 30 years, according to presentation

3 hours ago

Conor Doherty,

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Trash is something many of us roll out to the curb every week and rarely think about where it ends up.

But at the current rate, the New Hanover County landfill will be filled within the next 30 years.

During last week’s New Hanover County Commissioners’ agenda review meeting, County Recycling and Solid Waste Director Joe Suleyman presented on the future of the county landfill.

“You decided to go ahead and explore everything that was out there, to take a look at any waste diversion recycling opportunities that were out there to meet our end goal and strategy, which is to preserve the life of the landfill,” Suleyman said.

Suleyman said the average per capita disposal rate per person per year is 1.6 tons, over half a ton more than the national average.

He said an increase in tourism has had an effect on that rate, and that there’s no opportunity to expand the landfill off Highway 421.

That’s why Suleyman’s goal, for now, is to try to extend the landfill’s life by several more decades by reducing the amount of recyclables going in there now.

“Setting a goal of a diversion rate or recycling rate of 60% and if we achieve that goal, that will extend the current landfill life from 30 years to 70 years. Let’s get somebody in here, a third-party, that can look at all of our operations, look at all of our existing programs.”

And the recommendation to extend the landfill’s life by another 40 years is an idea County Commissioner Dane Scalise supports.

Commissioner Bill Rivenbark said calls to haul trash out of New Hanover County will go away once the cost of such a program becomes known to residents.

“Seeing that big mountain of trash, if you show those people what it’s going to cost to haul that trash out of the county, they’d get over it,” Rivenbark said.

For now, Suleyman said New Hanover County recycling and solid waste is not interested in finding solutions that transfer waste out of the county or that involve the privatization of the department.