City Taps Acting Director to Lead Waste Management

From a City of Durham news release:

Wayne Fenton, who has served as acting director of Durham’s Solid Waste Management Department since late 2022, on Feb. 26 officially became director. He oversees the department’s collections, disposal facilities, and waste-reduction initiatives.

Before joining the city in 2015, Fenton served 16 years working in utilities and asset management for neighboring Orange County.

“Wayne has served Durham for nearly nine years and has shown strong leadership of this department throughout his tenure,” said City Manager Wanda Page. “His consistent and steady leadership of our Solid Waste operations, coupled with his accomplishments to date in this department, such as the curbside food waste collection pilot program and the city-wide route rebalancing project, made him the best choice to continue leading our Solid Waste team as they serve a growing city.”

As director of the City’s Solid Waste Management team, Fenton will supervise 120 full-time employees who perform weekly residential garbage and bi-weekly recycling collections for more than 80,000 households; manage the waste disposal and recycling center facilities; and provide bulky item pickups, yard waste collections, code enforcement, and waste-reduction initiatives for the community.

Fenton will continue his leadership of the department’s curbside Food Waste Collection Pilot program and he will continue to lead efforts on the Reuse Hub Project, which aims to divert reusable materials from landfills and serve as a place for economic opportunities. Additionally, Fenton will continue his leadership of the department’s Recycle Right Durham campaign to help residents remove non-recyclables from the City’s recycling collections.

Fenton earned his master’s in public administration from North Carolina State University where he also received his certified energy manager accreditation. He received his bachelor’s in political science from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and has received continuing education in collection systems and integrated solid waste management systems from the Solid Waste Association of North America.

Fenton replaces former Solid Waste Management Director Donald Long, who retired in December 2022.

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