ES.1.

3 COMMERCIAL WASTE REDUCTION GOALS

Table ES.3 displays the commercial waste reduction goals which were developed based on
estimated diversion from the recommended strategies. Although the waste reduction goal for
the short term (46%) is actually lower than the current year (47%), the anticipated economic
recovery will lead to increased business waste generation, which combined with the open
system of commercial collection, makes these goals reasonable due to expected tonnage
increases and lack of municipal control of the waste stream. 

ES.1.4 CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION DEBRIS REDUCTION GOALS

Table ES.4 displays the C&D waste reduction goals, which were developed based on estimated
diversion from the recommended strategies. Because of the recommended aggressive
approach of mandating recycling of C&D material, it is anticipated that this sector will see the
greatest rate reduction percentage of the baseline year, from 58% in the current FY 2010/2011
to over 80% in the short term and long term. 

ES.2 PLANNING AREA DESCRIPTION

The County continues to experience rapid growth in population; the population is expected to
grow nearly 18% through this ten‐year planning period. The County is projected to have a
population of 941,259 at the beginning of the ten‐year plan period (July 2012) and 1,114,398 at
the end of the planning period (July 2022).   For Plan development purposes, there are three
generator sectors of discarded materials in Mecklenburg County: commercial, residential, and
construction and demolition debris (C&D). As shown in Figure ES‐3, the historical breakdown of
disposed materials shows that the commercial sector is consistently the largest generator,
while residential and C&D sectors compete for second place each year. In FY2010/11, a total of
1,089,624 tons made up of 513,081 commercial tons, 380,882 residential tons, and 195,661
C&D tons, were disposed.

ES.3 PLANNING PROCESS AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

While the overall planning direction remained the same, this update presented an opportunity
for the County and the municipalities to step back and take an objective look at the system and
envision the possibilities for the future by reaching out to stakeholders in the County prior to
writing the Plan. Outreach efforts included a Steering Committee, which met once a month
during the planning process. A diverse group of constituents were represented on the Steering
Committee, all of whom contributed to the success of the Plan development.