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.

1. FREE SHREDDING

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

The Chatham County Sheriff’s Department will be available to safely dispose of all your old, unused, or expired prescription medications safely and legally.

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. 

The mission of the North Chatham Volunteer Fire Department is to protect lives, property and the community environment from the destructive effects of fire, disaster or other life hazards by providing public education, incident prevention and emergency response services. The department will have staff and firefighters on hand at the event to check your fire extinguisher and to advise on how to safely use it. 

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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

  NEWS

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)

By Sarah C.P. Williams

• AI helps scientists design better sensors for pollutants and beyond

• Next-gen batteries without “forever chemicals”

• UChicago engineer driving key role in Great Lakes water transformation

They linger in our water, our blood, and the environment—"forever chemicals” that are notoriously difficult to detect.

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.”

Prof. Junhong Chen

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 this context, machine learning is a tool that can quickly sort through countless chemical probes and predict which ones are the top candidates for binding to each PFAS,” said Chen. 

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

 

The Green Scene Wednesday October 8, 2025 Meeting Program. Please Feel Free to Send Replies and Comments Via Phone or Text to Jason Welsch at (914) 806-4852. The Executive Director of the Assembly, Emily Sutton, will give a presentation entitled "Current Activities and Outcomes of Previous Initiatives Undertaken by the Haw River Assembly" The 110-mile-long Haw River, which passes a few miles to the west of Fearrington Village, is one of the three major tributaries to Jordan Lake, the source of our community’s drinking water. For more than 40 years, an organization called the Haw River Assembly has been very actively working to preserve the health and integrity of the Haw River. They have a very diverse and year-round program of education, advocacy, and (mostly dedicated volunteer) hard work that addresses a broad range of river support activities.  There will be ample time for a Question and Answer period at the conclusion of their presentation. This presentation will present an informative follow-up to the September presentation by our “new” water utility provider, Tri-River Water.  All are welcome to attend.     Join us Wednesday morning.   And, consider bringing a friend as well as any questions you may have on the subject.  All are welcome!     Remember the Upcoming 3-in-1 Recycling event scheduled for Saturday October 18, 2025 at the Gathering Place Parking Lot  See Immediately Below for Complete Details. Mark your calendars, and spread the word! Jason Welsch, Moderator Fearrington Green Scene Cell Phone: 914-806-4852 Keep Up To Date By Visiting the Regional Green Scene Blog This program is in keeping with the Green Scene's mission to actively encourage village residents to consider and act on major environmental issues and also to reduce their consumption of energy, water, and other resources, reuse goods and supplies, and recycle whenever possible. Forward to a Friend

Fearrington Green Scene September 2025 Meeting Program

 

The Green Scene September 10, 2025 Meeting Program. Do Not Reply to This Email. Instead, Please Feel Free to Send Replies and Comments Via Phone or Text to Jason Welsch at (914) 806-4852.  "WHO / WHAT  IS TriRiver Water ?" At The Gathering Place Large Room 11:00am to Noon  As many of us know, there is a "new" water utility company serving Fearrington Village.  And, since many of us also know, WATER makes up typically more than 50% of our human bodies   -   which we are constantly replenishing.   So, it would seem prudent for us all to be informed with regard to WHO is responsible for assuring the purity and reliable availability of our community drinking water. Toward that end, please consider attending the next Green Scene Meeting at the large room of The Gathering Place on Wednesday, Sept. 10, from 11:00 AM till Noon, at which two knowledgeable, experienced employees of TriRiver Water will come and tell us about our new water utility company. Cameron Clinard is the TriRiver Water Public Information Officer, and he will speak of the recent merger that created TriRiver.   He will be accompanied by Daniel Clevenger, Jordan Lake Water Filtration Administrator, who will speak to the idea of what TriRiver does to and with the water that comes out of Jordan Lake, and ends up in our homes. There will be ample time for a Question and Answer period at the conclusion of their presentation.  Join us Wednesday morning.   And, consider bringing a friend   -   as well as any questions you may have on the subject.  All are welcome!   Sign Up To Receive Our Free GREEN SCENE Newsletters Mark your calendars, and spread the word! Jason Welsch, Moderator Fearrington Green Scene Cell Phone: 914-806-4852 Keep Up To Date By Visiting the Regional Green Scene Blog This program is in keeping with the Green Scene's mission to actively encourage village residents to consider and act on major environmental issues and also to reduce their consumption of energy, water, and other resources, reuse goods and supplies, and recycle whenever possible. Forward to a Friend

A Belated THANK YOU for Your Support of the May 17, 2025 "3-in-1" Event at The Gathering Place Parking Lot!

We had 245 vehicles go through the process, some with just one category of participation. Some participated in all three services.  If you do the math, that works out to about one vehicle every 44 seconds.

The Chatham County Sheriff's people collected 24.7 pounds of medications.  That's a LOT of pills that won't get flushed down the drain, or end up in the land fill.   

Also, the Shimar Recycling paper shredding truck processed 4,811 pounds of paper.  That's, obviously, more that two tons of no longer needed paper that won't be sitting around in our homes, and will    -   instead   -   be processed, by a Georgia Pacific corp. facility in Georgia, and converted into toilet paper.   A wonderful, concrete example of one of our Green Scene beliefs: recycle, repurpose, and reuse.

Once again, THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered to work at the event ( Maarten Simon-Thomas, Wendy Snodgrass, Bill Rosenfeld, Marilyn Racine, Randy James, Tom Jackson, Mike Petruska, Bill Terwilliger, Cheri DeRosia, Maggie Tunstall, Jim Kasprazak ), and those many residents who participated by bringing their recycling items to the event.

Jason Welsch, Moderator

Fearrington Green Scene