The Environmental Management Department consists of four units: Administration, Recycling, WASTEC (Waste-To-Energy Conversion Facility), and Landfill.

Administration staff provides support to the three divisions within the department, handles numerous other environmental issues, and recommends solid waste planning strategies and policies. Environmental issues include: monitoring of water supplies for compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, Superfund site contract administration, compliance with solid waste regulations including banned materials, conducting environmental audits, and contract administration within the department. The administration section is also responsible for contract administration for debris removal after natural disasters such as hurricanes and ice storms.

The Landfill is situated on 689 acres of land in the northwestern portion of the County. The landfill operates five and one-half days per week. Hours of operation are 7 am until 5:00 pm Monday through Friday and 8 am until 11:45 am Saturday. The landfill is closed for the following holidays, New Year's Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, after noon on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The current landfill consist of eight cells of approximately 5.5 acres each. Each cell costs approximately $2,500,000 to construct the bottom liner system and $1,000,000 to place a closure liner over the top of the waste. To protect groundwater, each cell is constructed with synthetic bottom liners to prevent leakage. Monitoring systems are provided to detect any leakage between the liners and landfill gases. Groundwater montoring is conducted at the site. Cell closure includes the installation of a synthetic liner over the waste to prevent the infiltration of rainwater, reducing leachate generation. On-site treatment of leachate is provided through a wastewater treatment plant and a constructed wetlands treatment system.

WASTEC is an integrated solid waste disposal facility that burns solid waste for electrical production. The facility operates 24 hours a day, can process 450 tons of solid waste a day, and produce 118,000 pounds of steam per hour. All internal electrical demands are supplied by the facility. Up to 7.5 Megawatts of electricity is sold to Carolina Power and Light Company to help offset operating costs. Three boilers and two turbine/generators keep the facility operational. The facility was constructed in 1984 as a means to decrease the need for landfilling by reducing the volume of solid waste by incineration. By using the incineration method, the volume of solid waste is reduced approximately 85 percent. Ash produced by the facility is used as a daily cover and also in building roadbeds leading into the landfill cells, conserving on-site soils.

The Recycling Division is responsible for recommendations on solid waste reduction programs, public education on solid waste issues, and technical assistance to local businesses and citizens seeking methods to reduce their waste stream. The Recycling staff collects materials generated through the County’s drop-off recycling centers. Seasonal collections include Christmas Tree Recycling and Telephone Book Recycling programs. Keep America Beautiful of New Hanover County is also in the Recycling Section. Its primary responsibilities are promotion of environmental education through programs such as “Proud Clean Schools” and litter prevention through programs such as “Big Sweep.” In addition, the division staff maintains a database of organizations and businesses that provide the general public with information relating to recycling.