The state of North Carolina began requiring counties to develop and submit a ten‐year solid

waste management plan (SWMP) in 1997, and requires that the plan is updated every three
years. The intent is to evaluate the waste stream, develop waste reduction goals, and guide
future planning decisions. The reduction goals are expressed as a percent reduction in per
capita tons disposed compared to a base year. For Mecklenburg County (County), the base year
is Fiscal Year 1998/99. This 2012 Mecklenburg County Ten‐Year Solid Waste Management Plan
(Plan) represents the fifth update to the Plan, and encompasses eight local governments:
Mecklenburg County; the City of Charlotte; and the Towns of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville,
Mint Hill, Matthews, and Pineville.  
ES.1 RESULTS OF THE PLAN UPDATE
The planning efforts for this update have led to aggressive, but realistic, goals for waste
reduction in the County by using an approach to first identify viable options for the planning
area by reaching out to stakeholders at the beginning and throughout the planning process and
then estimating waste reduction potential of each. The reduction goals are established for the
short term, defined as 2013 through 2017, and the long term, defined as 2018 through 2022. As
shown in Figure ES‐1, the short‐term reduction goal is to reach 1.01 per capita tons disposed,
which represents a 49% reduction compared to the base year. The long‐term reduction goal is
to reach 0.82 per capita tons disposed, which represents a 58% reduction compared to the base
year

ES.1.1 OVERALL WASTE REDUCTION GOALS

While it is impressive that the County has currently reached a 40% rate reduction from the
baseline year in FY 2010/2011, it is undeniable that the economy has had a hand in the waste
reduction level achieved. Through a combination of strategies across the residential,
commercial, and C&D generator sectors, even with an increasing population and a recovering
economy returning generation to pre‐recession levels, the County can reach high waste
reduction goals. Table ES.1 displays the overall or total waste reduction goals for this planning
period, for the short term and long term

ES.1.2 RESIDENTIAL WASTE REDUCTION GOALS

Table ES.2 displays the residential waste reduction goals, which were developed based on
estimated diversion from the recommended strategies. Considering that there was already a
countywide residential recycling program in place in the baseline year, the short‐term waste
reduction goal of 16% and long‐term waste reduction goal of 35% are aggressive, but realistic.