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Date: 2/23/26
Duration: 21:29
Guest: Marcus Jones
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Summary:
Episode 24: Marcus Jones, Henderson County Engineer – Recycling, Ecusta Trail & Roundabouts In Episode 24 of Living Local with Frisbee Real Estate, Ed talks with Marcus Jones, Henderson County Engineer, about the infrastructure that keeps Henderson County running — from solid waste and recycling to Hurricane Helene recovery, the Ecusta Trail, and local roundabouts. Marcus has served Henderson County for nearly 20 years and oversees engineering-related operations including solid waste, the transfer station, utilities, facility services, and coordination with soil and water and the animal shelter. As he puts it, if you live or work in Henderson County, he’s “your county engineer.” Transfer Station vs. Landfill Henderson County transitioned from a traditional landfill to a transfer station system in the mid-1990s due to environmental regulations and long-term costs. Today: Trash is collected at the Stony Mountain Road transfer station It’s transported 76 miles to a landfill in Union County, South Carolina Construction debris and municipal solid waste follow the same route This system allows the county to manage waste efficiently without operating its own landfill. Recycling in Henderson County Henderson County ranks in the top 25% of North Carolina counties for recycling. Recycling is: Single-stream (no sorting required at home) Processed at a materials recovery facility in Asheville Often more cost-effective than trash disposal The county also offers a popular “bag-for-bag” program at the convenience center: bring equal amounts of recycling and trash, and the trash disposal is free. Residents can learn more at hcrecycles.org or on the Henderson County website. Hurricane Helene Recovery Marcus discusses the massive cleanup effort following Hurricane Helene, including debris removal and coordination with NCDOT. While road access was restored quickly in many areas, long-term repairs and recovery will continue for years. He highlights the behind-the-scenes work of public works and transportation crews who helped restore access across the county. Ecusta Trail Updates The Ecusta Trail remains one of the county’s most popular projects. Phase One is open and heavily used. Phase Two is moving forward under a design-build partnership with NCDOT, with construction timelines potentially extending into 2028. Temporary closures may occur during upcoming roundabout construction near the trail. Roundabouts in Henderson County Marcus explains why engineers favor roundabouts: Move about 20% more traffic than signalized intersections Reduce severe crashes and fatalities Lower vehicle speeds and eliminate dangerous T-bone collisions While they require more land and come with a learning curve, they’re considered significantly safer. Local Favorites Marcus also shares a few Hendersonville favorites: West First Wood-Fired Mountain Deli Postero Biking and outdoor recreation in Pisgah and DuPont From waste management and recycling to trail development and transportation safety, this episode offers a practical look at how Henderson County infrastructure supports everyday life. As always — keep living local.
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Transcript:
Thanks again for joining us today. Our special guest is Marcus Jones. He's with the Henderson County and he is the engineer for Henderson County. Marcus, thanks so much for joining us today. You're welcome. Thanks for having me, Ed. And I ⁓ don't like to say the county engineer. It's your county engineer. So as long as you live or work in Henderson County, I'm at your service. That sounds awesome. Is that what your card says by chance? ⁓ That's a good idea. It doesn't, but our next batch will say that. That's funny. Well, to give us an overview of what you do and then I have some questions for you most likely. Well, I sounds like you have a pretty big head. So well, I do all the engineering things for the county. So ⁓ solid waste, utilities ⁓ work with all those folks and. help out soil and water a little bit and our facility services ⁓ and the animal shelter. And I think working with the animal shelter, because the other folks on the county manager's team are concerned that they go visit the animal shelter and come away with five dogs. And it's next to the ⁓ solid waste facility. yeah, the folks out at animal shelter do a really good job. Brad Refield, the director and his staff ⁓ are really caring and do a good job keeping us all safe. The animals taken care of. You said that solid waste is that same as the transfer station? That's yes, correct. Yeah. Or next to it, I guess. Yeah. It used to be the dump and now it's ⁓ in the mid nineties. We switched over ⁓ primarily to a transfer station. So we So the little trucks come to us and then we load them into big trucks and they go down to South Carolina to a landfill down there. So I've always been curious, when did it change from like a dump to a transfer station? Oh gosh, back in the mid 90s there was some, what was it, state laws but they were in compliance with federal stuff that basically made landfills more difficult, more expensive and we were about closed out with the landfills that are on the site now on Stony Mountain Road. ⁓ we actually did do a pretty, at the time, prior to me being here, but we did a big search for a place for a new landfill. There wasn't room on the site. ⁓ And after a lot of discussion and you can imagine siting a landfill in your counties, probably right up there were the top 10 most difficult things to do. ⁓ it was determined that transferring was a better option for us. So, um, and we're, contracted with, um, Republic services and they have a huge landfill in union County, South Carolina. So 76 miles from our transfer station to their landfill. Um, and that's that same for any of the recycling stuff too. Do they take that as well or is that different? Our construction debris and, what we call ⁓ municipal solid waste or trash that goes to Union County. And our recycling will go to our household recycling goes to a materials recovery facility in Asheville called curbside management. you know, you may know that our recycling in the county is single stream are all mixed together. Well, the facility in curbside management has a, you know, big warehouse full of ⁓ conveyor belts and sorting systems and mechanized and electronics that sort, that are single stream recycling into individual commodities for market and sell. we actually ⁓ make money on our recycling. ⁓ Most of the times it covers the transportation costs to get it to the Murph. Sometimes we make a little more money than that. Sometimes we may not cover the transportation, but for us, it's always, ⁓ a lot less expensive to process than trash. we're, ⁓ it, yeah, you can go to curbside management's website and they've got videos of how they sort our recycling. And ⁓ so if you hear that, you know, the recycling just gets thrown away, that's throwing away money. I don't, I'm not going to go to the commissioners and ask them for money that I don't have to. So ⁓ they've got enough on their plate for sure. But and then at the convenience center, we have other recycling options and they go to different vendors and have different recycling options. So what's quite a setup. I don't go off into the recycling probably several times a year and then to the dump as we call it. Gosh, if you're not strategic on when you go, there's quite a line. So it's well used. It is. You know, we have the bag for bag program. So if you come to our convenience center with a equal amounts recycling to ⁓ amount of trash you have, the trash is no charge. And that's a benefit. The win-win, we get some recycling material and the citizens have a no charge trash service. So it helps citizens, it helps with illegal dumping. And if somebody's new to the area, I think that's, they're kind of surprised to hear that. But do y'all have a specific website they go to or something they can learn more? ⁓ think it's hcrecycles.org. of course, Solid Waste has a page on the... ⁓ Anderson County's website? Correct. Yeah. there's a lot of information there. recycling is more challenging than trash, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy. So it's not that complicated. And that's the big thing we try with recycling is... trying to make it convenient for folks. with a single stream, you don't have to sort, can just, you know, put everything in one container. And, we're, we're, we're one of the, we're top 25 % recycling in the state for counties. So we're not, you know, top, but we do a good job in Henderson County. Well, I'd much rather bring a recycling to their. than to put it out at the curb because they get lot more specific on what you put in that blue bag. that's our, we have a great network of private haulers that offer curbside service in the county and they bring their material to us as well. We do not charge them for recycling material. It's to incentivize them to offer that service and they do a a great job. It's we've got a really unique situation that ⁓ that provides affordable trash service to the citizens and and you know we try to privatize as much as we can and work closely with our businesses hauling businesses and ⁓ you know the haulers are 70 percent of our business so we really try to orientate our services towards them as much as you know make sure we You know, the litmus test is, well, how will this affect the haulers and that sort of thing? So, well, I never thought I'd ask this question, but you've just made me think about it. like Henderson County versus Buncombe County, the fact that people can choose who they have pick up their trash versus I'm pretty sure Buncombe County is limited just one option for private trash. That's that's a big deal to me. Yeah. And I appreciate that. Yeah, we both have we Buncombe County has exclusive franchise. Yeah. And ⁓ There's benefits to that, but there's also challenges. And we've looked at it a couple of times in the past and the big ⁓ pushback that we get when we start talking about that is ⁓ our citizens like having a choice. And that's important. we're able to, the haulers are able to work with us and vice versa to offer a good affordable service. So our haulers, have a competition with each other and the prices are about what Buncombe's ⁓ franchising haulers are. So, ⁓ you know, it's not broken. So what else? Anything exciting with Henderson's County and the engineering department or big plans? Yeah. Well, we're, ⁓ you know, it's been a last year with a a lot of efforts with Helene recovery. So for me, I'm kind of transitioning out of it and ⁓ the county has hired a ⁓ rock star in the recovery world, Natalia Ballard, and she's leading that effort for us. that was, you know, that was a... Does that mean that was under you? ⁓ I was ⁓ working, was doing whatever I could do to help, but ended up... doing a lot with the debris recovery. that's massive. lot of, a lot of talk, got to talk to a lot of citizens and, and, and, you really strong needs and some hard conversations and we're still having them just not as frequently. And, uh, you know, it's going to be the gift that keeps on giving for a long time. So, uh, I've got to give a plug to our department of transportation and just the absolute heroic job they did in getting our road networks back up. ⁓ You know, they'll still be working on the roads for years, but they've got them, you know, most, vast majority of them ⁓ back open and it's pretty amazing. think ⁓ the public, we all naturally tend to ⁓ probably not be grateful or thankful enough for work that's been done. But if in hindsight, I think people would agree that it's been quick recovery from such devastation. thank you. you're welcome. And I work, work with DOT folks in the county and know them pretty well. And, ⁓ know, they're public works folks like my folks and I'm probably a wannabe, but public folks like it when we're when we're behind the scenes and just getting it done. you know, unless if you usually when we become a parent in people's lives, it's usually a problem. We're like the IT guys, know, the computers are great until they don't work. So are you in the engineering department also over Acusta trails at all? ⁓ That's a project that I'm constructing the parks and recreation are managing and operating the trail. So with the first section, there are a few little items that are still left in the construction contract. Just we call them punch list. but some pavement markings that need to be redone and a pedestrian signal actuator, a button that needs to be moved to the correct side of the trail. just little stuff like that. ⁓ we are in the throes of starting the second phase and ⁓ it's gonna be done a little bit differently. The first phase was done with a traditional design, bid, build, procurement for construction and we're working with DOT. ⁓ doing a design build. So the designers work for the contractor and ⁓ funding requirements scheduling to have the monies obligated kind of forced that because it lets you obligate money quicker under the design bid format. ⁓ we're still in the selection process. The selection process is pretty intense. A lot of work has to go into ahead of time because you're. You don't have the designer to help you do the bid process. ⁓ But we should have that done and start work probably in the summer. ⁓ there'll be an emphasis on design for a while before actual construction starts. the three bidders that have been identified or selected or short list, ⁓ their schedules. And this is new news. I know you had Laura on site and we've had to switch procurement stuff. So I've got a little worse news and Laura gave you on that schedule, but ⁓ the bidders range their schedules, which I had to submit range anywhere from March to December of 2028. that, ⁓ you know, that hasn't been negotiated yet or, or solidified, but that's a good, good idea of what can be done. and and we got the first phase open before we had finished construction. So there might be, you know, chances to open it up before we actually. you know, finish the construction too. So, well, I've been shocked. I've told everybody how well used it is and how popular it is. it's, ⁓ it's been fun to watch and be a part of and walk and enjoy. So it is. you again. Yeah. It's good to be part of a project like that and help, ⁓ the recreation department construct that, ⁓ just to get to see public utilization of a project you've That's probably my first time seeing something get used that much. ⁓ Rec department has it good. When folks come to them, they're happy and wanna recreate. ⁓ So I imagine they probably have some concerned citizens too, but mostly everybody's pretty happy. And the Acoustic Trail is a poster child for that for sure. So how long have you been with Anderson County as our engineer? ⁓ Been fortunate. to be part of the team for 20 years almost. Wow. Yeah. And you're not the only engineer. I am. Well, there are some other registered engineers with the county. I'm the only one that title. ⁓ We have an engineer in our solid souls and water department. then I was getting concerned for your well-being. You're doing all of that. So there's others that help. There are. And we also have a really good of consultants that help too. they tend to end up doing a lot of the more detailed engineering work and I'm more of a bureaucrat answering the phone and email. Before we run out of time, I always like to ask people, you don't have to choose your favorite restaurants or places you highly recommend people to try out if they're visiting the area. How about three places if you can think of any? ⁓ well, West First for sure. They opened up about the time we moved here and we've been frequenting them for 20 years now. Have you had the garlic knots? I've had it all. It's all great. It's ⁓ excellent food, excellent service, and really good atmosphere. You can't beat it. Gosh, Mountain Deli does a good job thinking about the downtown lunch stuff. every time in special occasions, you know... mortgage a house and go to go to eat a Postero. Their said their cachapepe um, dish with shrimp is, uh, yeah, it's worth the wait, worth the money. So awesome. And how about you have people come visit from out of town? Do you say, Hey, you need to go check out this in the area? Oh, well, I mean, you know, you don't have to tell them. Everybody knows about all of our, uh, pays Piska and do pond. And, um, we've just got to. an excellent outdoor opportunities. Excellent outdoor opportunities. you hike or bike yourself? I bike. I'm a bike enthusiast for sure. and you know, what, whatever flavor bike you want, it's, we've got it all road biking and of course mountain biking. And ⁓ so I can't remember who it was. met he was, I don't know if he's the county level or, or city level, but he bikes every day to work. we've got a couple, what one, ⁓ Matt champion in our planning department. It might be him. Probably is and he I think from Brevard. Yes. Yeah, it was shocking. Yeah, I need to talk to him. Yeah, he's a he's a gifted individual. Summer, winter, spring, fall. He's all over it. Yeah, he's not only commutes a distance, but he's he's pretty quick too. So yeah, that's impressive when I heard that. So last question, I always like to ask everybody their opinion of roundabouts and that probably affects you on a different level. But Well, you went down a slippery slope. You ask an engineer what time it is, and I'm going to tell you how to build a watch, right? I'm same but a different version of our communication director. Give me the Cliftonoads version. Well, roundabouts from an engineering point of view, which safety is our most important aspect that we look at, you're looking at, ⁓ well, for efficiency, they move 20 % more traffic than a signalized intersection. ⁓ they are significantly safer. with a signalized intersection, you have some pretty serious accidents, T-bones, high speed accidents. With a roundabout, the speeds are a lot lower and they tend to be front to rear collisions. So fatalities are significantly less. You still have accidents, but the severity of the accidents are much less. ⁓ So there's really no... The only reason is not to do a roundabout ⁓ for the most part are ⁓ there's a learning curve. you hear some concerns about roundabouts and it's usually folks that just haven't busted the learning curve with them. ⁓ And ⁓ from a design perspective, they take more real estate. And that's an expensive part of a civil project is acquiring the land. So there's places where that the amount of real estate needed is not as ⁓ feasible. And that would be most of the reasons. But if you've got an intersection with a lot of left turns, roundabout is just perfect. ⁓ So. I think I could spend a whole episode asking about roundabouts, I'll have to say that for another day. Well, the other problem is something they do in Europe and that always gets. Is that where they originated then? I don't know if that's where they originated, but they're a lot more prevalent there. that term could be it's, you know. Forgive me if I offend anybody, but it's kind of like, well, I'm from Asheville. you're like, whatever. Just joking. We love our neighbors to the north. they do that in Europe. It also gets a lot of people's ears up in the red flags. But roundabouts are great. They're a lot safer for you and your family. And everybody should support them. Awesome. Well, I think everyone on the show so far has said they like roundabouts. And I've been surprised. but we like them too. And I have heard that this is going to be a double roundabout at Church Street and that always raises eyebrows. that'll be fun to see and watch. Yep, it will be. It'll be fun to watch it get constructed and also the ones on ⁓ 64 West. Yes. Unfortunately, there's going to be a trail closure during the construction of the White Pine Roundabout. ⁓ doing DOT a favor to getting the kind of getting the word out. So we're trying to limit it and looking for bypasses. that's a challenge. It's Yeah, I think it's gonna be kept to be closed for a while. Interesting. Well, Marcus, thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule. think we've gone over 20 minutes already. ⁓ So thank you. Marcus Jones, how do people contact you if they wanted to? I'm online. ⁓ Henderson County's website? Yep. Jones at Henderson County NC.gov. You also could get a new email address. Your engineer. Just kidding. All right. Thanks again, Marcus. And as always to our listeners, keep living local.