Wake County seeks public input on landfill plans before 2040 deadline

Wake County is asking residents to weigh in on what comes after the South Wake Landfill, the county’s only municipal landfill, as the site near Holly Springs and Apex moves toward capacity. The landfill was about 39% full at the end of 2025 and is expected to fill sometime between 2040 and 2045, depending on annual waste volumes. It already receives about 500,000 tons of trash a year, or roughly 1,600 tons a day.

The county’s phase-one study laid out four broad paths: build a new landfill in Wake County, haul waste to regional landfills outside the county, construct a waste-to-energy facility, or pursue other disposal options. A new landfill would require at least 400 acres of undeveloped land after county staff screened out incorporated areas, existing development, parks, wetlands, watersheds, airports and other restricted sites. There are five regional landfills within 100 miles, though several are expected to reach capacity around the same time and any expansion would depend on land, permits and local approvals.

Wake County’s 2019 waste-composition study found about 75% of material sent to the South Wake Landfill was potentially compostable, recyclable or recoverable. Last year, the South Wake Landfill accepted 516,109 tons of garbage, while county waste and recycling facilities recycled 40,751 tons of materials.

Wake County has paired the planning process with a public survey and informational sessions in June 2026 in Wake Forest, Fuquay-Varina, Zebulon, Cary and Raleigh. The county’s “Beyond the South Wake Landfill” effort is meant to produce a long-term, cost-effective and environmentally responsible plan for managing municipal solid waste over the next 50 years. Commissioner Cheryl Stallings called planning for waste management “a community conversation,” while Solid Waste Director John Roberson said the county cannot wait until 2040 to start the process.