Beaufort County staff outline recycling, convenience-center operations and budget request; no votes due to lack of quorum

Victoria Hoffman, Solid Waste and Recycling, presented the department’s mid‑year report to the Beaufort County Solid Waste and Recycling Advisory Board on operational performance, recycling revenues and a draft FY‑26 budget request, saying the department remains largely on budget but is seeing higher disposal costs after a major storm event and population growth.

Hoffman said the department has produced a vision, mission and annual goals and that, halfway through fiscal 2025, disposal costs were “right on budget” though slightly above projections because of the storm and growth. She told the board the department had expended about 50% of its recycling budget for the fiscal year and that the county received $8,819.29 in commodity rebates in December from sales of recovered materials.

Why it matters: The presentation lays out revenue and cost pressures that Beaufort County staff plan to include in a formal budget request to County Council. The figures and program choices discussed — decal enforcement at convenience centers, continuing source‑separated recycling at four large centers, vehicle and equipment replacements and the county’s tire recycling cost structure — affect operational costs, resident access to recycling, and contracting decisions that the council will review during budget season.

Key figures and operations - Convenience centers: Hoffman said the…