Chatham County (NC) Climate Change Advisory Committee - Special Meeting
Tuesday 01/06/2026 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center
1192 US 64 W Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312The Chatham County Climate Change Advisory Committee will hold a Special Meeting on Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at the Chatham County Agriculture and Conference Center, 1192 US 64 West, Pittsboro, NC.
The Special Meeting will be held during the Chatham County Board of Commissioners Budget Retreat and should begin no earlier than 1:30pm.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the Climate Change Retreat and Next Steps with the Chatham County Board of Commissioners.
You can view agendas and minutes on the Legistar Site.
For first-time visitors to the Legistar Site, click on the drop-down list next to the search field and select “All Years.” Then click the “Meeting Date” column to sort by most recent meeting to oldest meeting. These settings should save for any return visits to the site.
If residents have questions, they can call the Office of Clerk to the Board Jenifer Johnson at 919-542-8200 or email at jenifer.johnson@
The Chatham County BOC meeting can be viewed on Zoom.
Meeting ID: 465 375 8361
Chatham County (NC) Climate Change Advisory Committee Meeting
Climate Change Advisory Committee Meeting
- Date: 12/18/2025 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
- Location: Solid Waste & Recycling Main Facility
28 County Services Road
Pittsboro, North Carolina 27330
The Climate Change Advisory Committee meeting will be held in the conference room at the Solid Waste and Recycling Main Office. The address is listed below. Contact Kevin Lindley, Environmental Quality Director with any questions about the meeting location- kevin.lindley@
Solid Waste & Recycling Main Office
28 County Services Road
Pittsboro, NC 27312
Go through the gate and turn immediately to the right. This will take you to the parking lot by the main entrance. Enter the lobby and go through the door to the right to get to the conference room.
No December 2025 Green Scene Meeting. Next Meeting Wiil Be On January 14, 2026
With the seasonal complexity of numerous family obligations, travel plans, year-end meetings, and social gatherings crowding our calendars, the Green Scene will take December off.
We’ll look forward to resuming our programs on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, in The Gathering Place from 11 am to 12 noon.
Jason Welch, Moderator
(914) 806-4852
Wishing Everyone HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a Safe, Healthy & Happy New Year 2026.
FYI: You're Invited To Attend A Community Conversation on How Climate Change Is Affecting Us Now In Chatham County
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Topic: You are invited to join ChathamCAN and NC WARN on Thursday, November 6 for a Community Conversation about how climate change is affecting us now in Chatham County and what we can do about it. NC WARN will launch a new campaign with an 18 minute film revealing The Cost of Power: Duke Energy’s Climate Deception.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Time & Location: Join us Thursday from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Agricultural and Conference Center, 1192 US 64 West Business, Pittsboro, NC. A lIght supper and Spanish translation provided. See the flyer below.
I thought this community conversation might be of interest to a significant number of our Green Scene folks so decided to share this opportunity with you.
Jason Welsch, Green Scene Moderator, Cell/Text: (914) 806-4852 Email: janemcw@aol.com
ALSO WATCH FOR THE UPCOMING GREEN SCENE NEWSLETTER DESCRIBING THE NOVEMBER 12th 2025 MEETING PROGRAM COMING SOON.
After Action Report For the October 18, 2025 3-in-1 Community Recycling Event
A big thank you to all our 14 amazing volunteers—Stephen Boyd, Tony Carroll, Tony Daniels, Jon Darling, Jess Fearrington, Spring Jackson, Randy James, Art Lituchy, Mike Petruska, Eddie Price, Marilyn Racine, Karin Ritter, Maarten Simon-Thomas, and Maggie Tunstall! Thanks to their efforts, we processed 215 vehicles—more than one per minute—and managed to handle an impressive 4,080 pounds of paper, more than two tons! This paper is now on its way to being recycled into toilet paper at a production facility in Georgia. I would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the FHA Board in funding the Shimar Recycling Shredding Truck.
Recycled paper is proven to save trees and other resources: Recycling two tons (4,080 lbs) of paper has a significant positive impact on the environment. It can save 34 trees, 760 gallons of oil, 6 cubic yards of landfill space, 8,000 kWh of energy, and 14,000 gallons of water. Additionally, the 34 trees preserved can absorb about 500 lbs of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, while burning that same ton of paper would release 3,000 lbs of carbon dioxide. Overall, recycled paper generates 74% less air pollution compared to paper made from raw materials.
The North Chatham Volunteer Fire Department sent three members, who did a much appreciated job checking fire extinguishers, as well as sharing fire prevention tips.
The Chatham County Sheriff's Department collected just over 20 pounds of no longer needed medications during this event, which is a lot of medicines that won't end up polluting nearby water sources including Jordan Lake—our source of drinking water. The medications go to an approved commercial incineration facility for environmentally sensitive disposal.
The numerical statistics are one measure of the success of the event. Another, equally - if not MORE IMPORTANT measure - is the huge number of "Thank Yous" that I heard from our fellow residents as I greeted them upon their arrival. This is a very popular program, that our fellow residents very much appreciate.
THANK YOU, again, for your enthusiastic participation !
Planning ahead, consider circling the third Saturday in May (May 16, 2026) on your calendar, when we will have the opportunity to replicate and perhaps expand the yield of our fall 2026 community recycling efforts.
Jason Welsch
Moderator, Fearrington Green Scene
Announcing the FHA/Green Scene Fall October October 18, 2025 Recycling Event
FOR FEARRINGTON AND GALLOWAY RIDGE RESIDENTS ONLY.
FHA In Partnership with The GREEN SCENE
Saturday, October 18, 2025 Only Between 9:00am and Noon
3 Events — 1 Day: Gathering Place Parking Lot.
THIS EVENT IS SPONSORED BY THE FHA.
Have your confidential documents destroyed on-site, free of charge. Watch as Shimar Recycling Inc. shreds your documents.
Guidelines:
- Bound paper stacks one inch thick or more need to be separated
- Remove rubber bands and heavy banker's paper clips from papers
- Paper should not be in binders or heavy plastic.
In addition to the bulleted items listed above, If you bring paper in Banker’s Boxes or file storage boxes (both of which are size 24x12x10) to be shredded, NOTE that there is a limit of such paper content from ONLY up to a maximum of 5 (five) such boxes that will be accepted for shredding.
2. PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE DISPOSAL
All you need to do is leave them in the original packaging and hand them to the sheriff deputy on duty at the Gathering Place. No liquid medication or "sharps" (needles) are accepted. Remember: NEVER FLUSH medicines as they cause environmental issues.
AN ALTERNATIVE TO THROWING AWAY YOUR CURRENT UNUSED, UNWANTED PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES: consider donating them to Chatham Cares Community Pharmacy [CCCP] in Siler City, a non-profit community-based organization operated by a licensed pharmacist and committed to reducing health disparities by providing access to quality pharmacy services to the low-income, uninsured, and underinsured residents of Chatham County. Read all about it here.
3. FIRE EXTINGUISHER CHECK Fall 2024 Information -- Stopping Fires In Your Home With Smoke Alarms And Fire Extinguishers.
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REMEMBER that we are no longer able to accept Household Hazardous Waste at our events; however, the County Will Accept Such Waste on This Same Day.
One of Chatham County’s 2024 Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Events will be held on this same day (October 18, 2025) at the County’s Main Recycling Facility approximately 13 miles from Fearrington Village, at [click the address for a MAP] 28 County Services Road, (which is just 6 miles west of Pittsboro, off Hwy 64), between 9:00 am - 3:00 pm on the following schedule:
After the County's May event, there will be six more REMAINING 2025 COUNTY HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE EVENTS scheduled for the following Saturdays
(Chatham County Residents Only)
New starting July 2025: Decals are nowrequired to use HHW events, except for those residents who live in the town limits of Siler City. All residents will also be asked to show a driver’s license or item with the address of where the waste is coming from. Residents of the town limits of Apex, Cary, Goldston, and Pittsboro that do not have a decal, are not allowed to use the HHW facility.
The September Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) will be Saturday, SOctober 18th from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. HHW events are a way for residents to dispose of hazardous materials safely, such as oil-based paints, stains, bleach, cleaners, aerosols, batteries, propane tanks, etc. Residents can bring 20 gallons of latex paint cans per event. Latex paint can be safely dried out and put in with your regular trash.
For a complete list of accepted items visit: www.chathamcountync.gov/hhw or contact the Solid Waste & Recycling Division at 919-542-5516 or recycle@chathamcountync.gov.
HHW events are the third Saturday each month through November.
- March 15
- April 12* (second Saturday due to Easter)
- May 17
- June 21
- July 19*
- August 16
- September 20
- October 18 (same day as our community recycling event)
- November 15*
*The Sheriff’s Office will be on-site during these HHW events to conduct a medicine takeback. Learn more details below.
No business waste and no trash will be accepted.
Note that household fire extinguishers must be recycled at one of these scheduled Hazardous Waste Collection Events and cannot be recycled at the County regional Collection Centers. If it is from a business it will NOT be accepted at HHW events. Contact a private company for disposal options.
At HHW events, the county accepts such items as oil-based paints, solvents, stains, bleach, aerosols, cleaners, pesticides, brake fluid, fluorescent light bulbs, propane tanks, etc. Residents can bring 20 gallons of latex paint cans per HHW event. If you have a 1-gallon paint can that has half a gallon of paint in it, it will count as 1 gallon. Latex paint can be safely dried out and put in with your regular trash.
For a complete list, please visit the www.chathamcountync.gov/hhw or contact the Solid Waste & Recycling Division at 919-542-5516 or recycle@chathamcountync.gov.
For information on what items are accepted by the County's HHW program, be sure to visit their website.
Tiny Sensors Rapidly Detect “Forever Chemicals” in Water
The new portable test has the potential to distinguish different PFAS chemicals, including those on which the US Environmental Protection Agency recently put new limits
September 25, 2025
"Forever chemicals" are notoriously difficult to detect, but a collaboration between the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Argonne National Laboratory has yielded a novel detection method. The method, which they plan to share via a portable, handheld device, uses unique probes to quantify levels of PFAS “forever chemicals,” some of which are toxic to humans. (Photo by John Zich)
But researchers at the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) and Argonne National Laboratory have collaborated to develop a novel method to detect miniscule levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. The method, which they plan to share via a portable, handheld device, uses unique probes to quantify levels of PFAS “forever chemicals,” some of which are toxic to humans.
“Existing methods to measure levels of these contaminants can take weeks, and require state-of-the-art equipment and expertise,” said Junhong Chen, Crown Family Professor at the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Lead Water Strategist at Argonne National Laboratory. “Our new sensor device can measure these contaminants in just minutes.”
The technology, described in the journal Nature Water, can detect PFAS present at 250 parts per quadrillion (ppq) – like one grain of sand in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. That gives the test utility in monitoring drinking water for two of the most toxic PFAS—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)—for which the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed limits of 4 parts per trillion.
“PFAS detection and elimination is a pressing environmental and public health challenge,” said Andrew Ferguson, Professor of Molecular Engineering at UChicago PME. “Computer simulations and machine learning have proven to be an incredibly powerful tool to understand how these molecules bind to molecular sensors and can guide experimental efforts to engineer more sensitive and selective molecular probes.”
“Even though they are typically present at miniscule concentrations, PFAS do have certain molecular characteristics that differentiate them from other things dissolved in water, and our probes are designed to recognize those features,” said Seth Darling, a Senior Scientist at both Argonne and UChicago.
“Our new sensor device can measure these contaminants in just minutes.”
A detection challenge
PFAS are oil- and water-resistant chemicals that are used for a wide range of consumer and industrial products, including non-stick pots and pans, fast food packaging, firefighting foam, raincoats, and stain-resistant carpeting. Often called “forever chemicals,” they are incredibly long-lasting and do not naturally degrade, but instead accumulate in the environment and people’s bodies over time.
In recent years, studies have linked PFAS to health concerns, including cancers, thyroid problems and weakened immune systems. In light of some of these findings, the EPA proposed the new limits for PFOS and PFOA.
“The problem with enforcing these limits is that it’s very challenging and time-consuming to detect PFAS,” said Chen. “You currently can’t just take a sample of water and test it at home.”
The gold standard for measuring PFAS levels is an expensive laboratory test known as liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, which separates chemical compounds and provides information on each one.
Researchers attempting to make their own faster and cheaper PFAS tests face a few challenges: for one thing, PFAS chemicals are often present in water at much lower concentrations than dozens of other, more common contaminants. In addition, there are thousands of different PFAS chemicals with only slight variations between their chemical structures—but important differences in their health effects and regulations.
But Chen’s team has been developing highly sensitive, portable sensors on computer chips for the last fifteen years. Chen is already using the technology in a lead sensor for tap water, and his lab group suspected that the same method could be used in PFAS sensing. Their proposal to adapt the technology for PFAS became part of the National Science Foundation Water Innovation Engine in the Great Lakes.
From left: Prof. Junhong Chen, graduate student and first author Yuqin Wang, and Argonne and UChicago Senior Scientist Seth Darling. (Photo by John Zich)
Designed by AI
The gist of Chen’s sensor is that if a PFAS molecule attaches to his device, it changes the electrical conductivity that flows across the surface of the silicon chip. But he and his colleagues had to figure out how to make each sensor highly specific for just one PFAS chemical—such as PFOS.
To do this, Chen, Ferguson, Darling, and team turned to machine learning to help select unique probes that could sit on the sensing device and ideally bind only the PFAS of interest. In 2021, they won a Discovery Challenge Award from the UChicago Center for Data and Computing (CDAC) to support their use of artificial intelligence in designing PFAS probes.
Prof. Andrew Ferguson
In the new paper, the team showed that one of these computationally-predicted probes does indeed selectively bind to PFOS—even when other chemicals common in tap water are present at much higher levels. When water containing PFOS flows through their device, the chemical binds to the new probe and changes the electrical conductivity of the chip. How much the conductivity changes depends on the level of PFOS.
To ensure that the readings from the new device were correct, the team collaborated with EPA and used EPA-approved liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry methods to confirm concentrations and verified that the levels were in line with what the new device detected. The team further showed that the sensor could maintain its accuracy even after many cycles of detection and rinsing, suggesting the potential for real-time monitoring.
“Our next step is to predict and synthesize new probes for other, different PFAS chemicals and show how this can be scaled up,” says Chen. “From there, there are many possibilities about what else we can sense with this same approach— everything from chemicals in drinking water to antibiotics and viruses in wastewater.”
The end result may eventually be that consumers can test their own water and make better choices about their environment and what they consume.
Citation: “Reversible ppt-Level Detection of Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid in Tap Water using Field-Effect Transistor Sensors,” Wang et al. Nature Water, September 25, 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s44221-025-00505-9
Current Activities and Outcomes of Previous Initiatives Undertaken by the Haw River Assembly
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