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White Goods in North Carolina

The term “white goods” refers to refrigerators, ranges, water heaters, freezers, unit air conditioners, washing machines, clothes dryers, and other similar domestic and commercial large appliances.

The purpose of the Program is to discourage the illegal disposal of white goods and to recycle refrigerant gasses. G.S. 130A-309.80 states that: “The General Assembly found that white goods are difficult to dispose of, that white goods contain chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants pose, a danger to the environment, and that it is in the best interest of the State to require that chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants be removed from discarded white goods.”

The program is funded by taxes on the sale of white goods and the funds are redistributed back to the counties. As stated in G.S. 130A-309.83 – “The White Goods Management Account is established within the Department. The Account consists of revenue credited to the Account from the proceeds of the white goods disposal tax imposed by Article 5C of Chapter 105 of the General Statues.” The amount of the tax is $3 per white good. It is collected at the retail level.

All white goods grants and revenue a county receives are to be spent on white goods activities. By General Statute (G.S. 130A-309.83) the county must spend its white goods money only for the management of white goods. This can be done in any combination of three ways:

(1) Daily operating expenses Funds may be expended on white goods management, such as, but not limited to: employee salaries and expenses in training concerned with white goods,(only where the employee has actually touched white goods, known as the “touch it rule”), equipment maintenance and fuel, equipment operator’s time, etc. Weigh master and supervisory activities spent on white goods are not considered to be direct white goods activities.

(2) Capital improvements Funds may be expended on infrastructure and equipment. Typical infrastructure will include concrete pads, sheds and buildings. Equipment may include refrigerant reclamation machinery, skid steers, front loaders, grappling or knuckle boom loaders, etc. If a piece of equipment’s use will be split with another program, the county must estimate the percent of use and only apply the estimated amount to white goods.

(3) Clean-up of illegal dumps The county must estimate the amount of white goods in the illegal dump. If the estimated amount is 50% or greater, the entire dump may be paid for with white goods money. If the dump is estimated at less than 50%, only that portion may be paid for with white goods money. Please contact the Waste Management Specialist before initiating clean up activities.

Some counties are ineligible to receive their tax distributions but can regain eligibility by designating funds and submitting their Annual Fiscal Information Reports (AFIR). Counties can be ineligible to receive white goods revenues in two ways. First, failure of a county to submit its AFIR by March 1st results in a county becoming ineligible to receive grants and further tax distributions. Counties are required by law to submit a copy of the white goods portion of the AFIR to the Solid Waste Section. This can be mailed, faxed, or sent electronically. Second, if the county has more than the “threshold amount” left remaining in the undesignated ending balance in the white goods section of the Annual Fiscal Information Report (AFIR) for the fiscal year, the county is ineligible to receive further tax proceeds. A county’s threshold amount is calculated by multiplying what the county would have received in tax proceeds for the preceding fiscal year by 25%. Adding together the tax distributions from all four fiscal quarters and dividing by four can also calculate this amount.

The county may regain eligibility by completing and submitting the AFIR and/or designating the undesignated funds towards the management of white goods in the county’s ledger. Once this is done, a signed letter from the county finance director is sent to our section stating that the undesignated funds have been designated. The Solid Waste Section then notifies the Dept. of Revenue, which resumes revenue distributions to the county. At least thirty days are allowed before the end of the fiscal quarter for the Solid Waste Section to receive the letter or AFIR for the county to receive the funds for that fiscal quarter.

There are grants available from the Solid Waste Section to pay for daily operating expenses, capital improvements, and clean up of illegal white goods disposal sites.

Capital Improvement Grants are made to counties to purchase infrastructure and equipment. After construction is completed or equipment is purchased, the funds are disbursed. Counties may apply for these grants at any time and “reserve” these funds for reimbursement after the project is complete. Capital Improvement grant decisions are made upon receiving from a county:

1. A completed application form.
2. Copies of any bids, estimates, invoices, or receipts.
3. A working sketch and site plan of the planned infrastructure (if applicable) and/or a photocopy of a brochure or detailed description of any equipment to be purchased.
4. A brief letter of justification stating how a county’s white goods program will be improved or benefited through the grant.
5. A revised white goods management plan as part of the county’s comprehensive solid waste management plan, detailing how the new infrastructure will affect the county’s white goods management strategy and how the county plans to capture and dispose of refrigerant gasses.
6. A separate white goods account in the county’s ledger to better track white goods revenues and expenditures.

Cost Overrun Grants are made to counties for costs associated with daily operating expenses where the county runs a deficit in its budget for the management of white goods. These grants are awarded biannually from January to June (application deadline September 15th) and July to December (application deadline March 15th). To apply:

1. The county must fill out and send a completed cost overrun grant application form during the period that such requests are accepted.
2. Submit any necessary documentation to support the county’s request.

A county must be eligible for funding to apply for a cost overrun grant or a capital improvement grant. Moneys for cost overrun grants are limited and not always available. Counties should not rely on cost overrun grants to meet daily operating expenses.

Contact Information: Bill Patrakis, Solid Waste Section, 336-771-5091 Fax: 919-733-4810 Email: william.patrakis@ncmail.net
Mailing address: Division of Waste Management, Attn: Bill Patrakis, 1646 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-1646