Mecklenburg County, North Carolina’s Solid Waste Department is expected to start inspecting local businesses to ensure that they are adhering to the county’s ordinance requiring businesses in the county to separate office paper and old corrugated containers from the solid waste stream.
The companies that will be required to abide by this ordinance will be any office that has a contract to have at least 16 cubic yards of solid waste a week. The recycling ordinance took effect last January. In the beginning the program spent time on educating the businesses in the county on what would be included in the ordinance.
According to a spokeswoman with the Mecklenburg Solid Waste Department, between 6,000-7,000 companies are required to collect these fiber grades under this ordinance. Additionally, the city of Matthews, NC, is exempt from the policy.
The impending county inspections, which are aimed more at encouraging compliance than levying fines, will mark the first phase of active enforcement. So far the county has restricted enforcement to responding to complaints, primarily from office parks.
According to local press reports, noncompliant businesses receive three written warnings before the county can impose a fine of $50. Fines rise with each subsequent violation up to a limit of $2,500 within any 12-month period. The law allows for an appeals process. The county has yet to levy a fine and is interested primarily in helping businesses comply with the law.Latest from Recycling Today
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