Most people assume that when they throw a bag of trash into the dumpster, that it is on its way to the landfill. But for Durham County, it’s a little more complicated than that. Our landfill was closed in 1994, and since then, all of our trash is dropped at a holding station. The same day it’s dropped off, the trash is reloaded onto semi-trucks and taken 97 miles away to a landfill in Sampson County. Every weekday, Durham sends 8-12 semi-trucks (that get 6 miles to the gallon) on a 200 mile round trip. It’s our only option for waste disposal.
Here, take a little gander at what that looks like:
So what do we do? Make less trash to begin with! Enter GreenToGo, Durham’s very first reusable takeout container service. Founded by Don’t Waste Durham, GreenToGo is leading the charge to make a trash-free Durham. A single GreenToGo box replaces, at minimum, 1,000 single-use boxes, which is better for you and the environment. Styrofoam boxes contain styrene, a carcinogen that leaches into food and beverages, especially when heated up. They also are made of unsustainable materials, can’t be recycled, and eventually end up polluting our oceans. So it’s a no-brainer! Plus, if we reduce the number of trash trucks headed to Sampson County each day by just one truck, we can save 10,000 gallons of fuel every year.
So join the Reuse Revolution and subscribe to GreenToGo today!