C&D Landfill to Close

The North Wake Construction and Demolition (C&D) landfill, which opened in July 2001, is very near capacity and is scheduled to close at the end of this month. This small landfill was built to divert construction, demolition and bulky waste from the North Wake Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfill. Construction and demolition debris is not required by law to be buried in the more costly "Subtitle D" lined landfill, as was federally mandated for MSW in 1993.

The County's South Wake C&D landfill, though still open for business, is also slated for closure within the next six to eight months. The North Wake Solid Waste Management complex will continue to have drop-off recycling services for drywall and wood pallets.

The Solid Waste Management Division is running newspaper ads, distributing flyers and sending letters to landfill customers about the closure. Haulers of C&D debris are asked to stop bringing their trucks to the County facility at North Wake and find new places that will accept the materials.

"A key element of our strategic planning is to focus on stimulating markets for private-sector recycling companies for C&D debris," said Wake Solid Waste Director Jim Reynolds. "For that reason we are not planning to construct any additional C&D handling facilities."

Wake County currently has more than 20 private recycling companies for materials such as asphalt, cardboard, scrap metal, paint, brick and concrete. Some of them require that the materials be separated, while some will accept it mixed. The Habitat for Humanity Reuse Center in Raleigh collects and sells discounted building materials to the general public, and there are also seven C&D disposal facilities currently operating in the County. Source information on C&D waste recycling and disposal services is available on the Wake County website at www.wakegov.com or at 919-856-5216.