Trade secrets?

Cico LLC, a company proposing to privately run Greensboro's waste management system, included two letters in a "confidential information" envelope submitted to the city on Monday detailing a proposal to reopen the White Street Landfill.

Also submitted as confidential documents by Cico:

• A figure showing how the Phase 2 C&D landfill would be extended by 780,000 cubic yards, yielding an estimated 5 years of capacity;
• A figure illustrating a future expansion of the landfill, including 500 to 625 foot buffers established by the city;
• A figure showing a tentative machinery layout for a 400 tons-per-day facility; and
• A Study Area Map that includes that includes landmarks such as the landfill, Wal-Mart, GTCC, the Greensboro Sportsplex, the planned Keeley Park and the Osborne Waste Treatment Plant.

One of the key criteria for confidential documents under North Carolina law is that the material contain "trade secrets," defined, in part as information that "derives independent actual or potential commercial value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable."