Read the full article by Jon Soles (The Fayetteville Observer)

“Cumberland County Solid Waste Management takes seriously its job to dispose of waste in a safe, environmentally responsible and fiscally efficient manner. The department aims to improve that mission through recent changes in the fee schedule.

A new fee schedule at Cumberland County Solid Waste Management went into effect July 1 as part of the Fiscal 2021 Budget adopted by the Board of Commissioners on June 15.

The most significant fee change is a $300 surcharge imposed on any C&D (construction and demolition) loads with carpet or upholstered furniture. The upholstery in discarded furniture and carpet can contain PFAS/PFOA (Polyfluorakyl substances/Perfluorooctanoic acid) and is dangerous to unlined landfills.

Discarded carpet and upholstered furniture will be separated from C&D loads and disposed in the Subtitle D Landfill.

‘There is a good, environmentally responsible reason for this special handling fee,’ said Solid Waste Management Director Amanda Bader. ‘This is not a regulatory mandate, but rather an effort to go above and beyond to protect our environment, particularly groundwater. We didn’t create these (PFAS/PFOA) materials often found in discarded upholstered furniture and carpet, but we have to manage these materials and we don’t want them going into unlined landfills.’

Members of the general public may not realize the complexity of engineering and organization it takes to properly dispose of the thousands of tons of waste from individuals, businesses and institutions. Knowing what’s going in the landfill is an important aspect of its management…”