NEW HANOVER COUNTY — New Hanover County commissioners agreed Thursday to seek a third-party to evaluate its landfill operations, as 30 years remain on the site’s life without any space to expand.
Director of Recycling and Solid Waste Joe Suleyman told commissioners Thursday a consultant would bring in “a fresh set of eyes.”
“Tell us which programs are effective and efficient and which ones could do some work, and which programs or services we could be offering that we’re not, what has been successful in other communities or hasn’t, and make those recommendations to us,” he added.
READ MORE: Local company wants to turn landfill trash into fuel, New Hanover County skeptical
After the consultant makes recommendations, Suleyman said, the county could issue requests for proposals to carry them out.
The discussion didn’t require a formal vote from commissioners, who were in agreement the move would be a good application of resources. Suleyman wanted to confirm his department was headed in the right direction after commissioners called on staff to research and identify solutions last fall.
The request was made after the county received an unsolicited proposal from MEP/EnviRemed Environmental in November; representatives from the company wanted to contract with the county to dispose of some of the landfill’s trash through gasification. Commissioners were hesitant to sign on due to the limited uses of the process, which turns waste into fuel through a chemical reaction, and without evaluating all its options to alleviate the landfill.
The county has hired a consultant before — in 2015 — to explore ways to increase the lifespan of the landfill. Port City Daily asked the county for the recommendations made and how many were implemented but did not hear back by press.
At Thursday’s meeting, Suleyman said one of the previous recommendations was for a “mechanically stabilized earthen berm,” which would widen the base of the landfill piles.
“The juice for the squeeze was not something that I would be comfortable bringing to the board,” Suleyman said, noting the cost to implement was very high.
As for available solutions, commissioners lauded Suleyman and his team for already running the landfill efficiently, sometimes more so than other communities.
The county’s landfill is the only public site in the state that operates its own food waste composting program. It also is able to compact more trash per cubic yard than average, consistently getting to the 1,800- to 2,000-pound range. The industry standard is 1,200 to 1,600 pounds per cubic yard.
“It’s considered world class to get 1,600 pounds per cubic yard in landfill space and we’re consistently exceeding that by a wide margin,” Suleyman said.
Granted another storm doesn’t take years off the landfill’s life, like Hurricane Florence did in 2018, its lifespan is 30 years currently, though Suleyman said he expects he’ll have to request the board permit the landfill exceed 170 feet. Both Suleyman and Commissioner Rob Zapple acknowledged the public wouldn’t like the aesthetics of piling trash up to 270 feet; the landfill is already the highest elevation in New Hanover County.
Ultimately, the department is looking for ways to divert more trash from the landfill. The county is able to divert 25,000 tons of recyclable material with its Materials Recovery Facility, which sorts out items for recycling from mixed waste streams, but this is only a drop in the buck of the tonnage the landfill sees every year.
Each person in NHC generates 1.6 tons annually, whereas the national average is 1.05 tons per person per year. Suleyman said this can be attributed to high tourism and growth in the county, with construction waste marking a third of landfill waste.
The goal is to reach a diversion rate of 60%, which would extend the landfill’s life to 70 years. However, the county’s current rate is only about 6% to 8%.
Commissioners asked Suleyman if other municipalities in the state have been able to achieve a rate that high; Suleyman said some have been able to achieve 20% to 30% through working with WasteZero or banning certain materials.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality already mandates certain materials be banned from landfills, including aluminum cans, plastic bottles and wooden pallets.
“But how do you enforce that? It’s a very tough thing to do,” Commissioner Stephanie Walker said, noting the need for more community education.
As for WasteZero, the company partners with municipalities and businesses for a “pay-as-you-throw” program, with residents paying more to dispose of more trash and incentives for residents and companies to use sustainable practices.
Suleyman said the only restrictions on solutions for NHC is that his department is not interested in transferring waste out of the county — as it’s an expensive practice — nor privatizing the department.
“A lot of folks look at this and say, ‘30 years we have nothing to worry about’ — I can tell you that my kids, they’re going to have to deal with this as a challenge in their future,” Suleyman said.
Tips or comments? Reach out to journalist Brenna Flanagan here.
At Port City Daily, we aim to keep locals informed on top-of-mind news facing the tri-county region. To support our work and help us reach more people in 2026, please, consider helping one of two ways: Subscribe here or make a one-time contribution here.
We appreciate your ongoing support.
