County puts $400K toward planning two future solid waste facilities.
Gainesville Sun, Tuesday 25 January 2011.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110125/ARTICLES/110129670/1002/news01?p=1&tc=pg

"After much discussion and hand-wringing, county commissioners will put
$400,000 toward planning and studies for a proposed two-pronged approach
to future solid waste operations.

Still, a unanimous vote Tuesday did not settle debate surrounding one of
two future solid waste facilities planned to meet the county's goals of
achieving a 75 percent recycling rate and reducing the amount of garbage
that is trucked out of the county and buried in a landfill.

There was, however, little debate involving the planned modification of
the county's existing solid waste transfer station, where haulers truck
trash before it is brought to a landfill, to a materials recovery
facility. At that facility, all bags of trash that cross the scales would
be opened and sorted to gather organic materials, such as food waste, and
recyclables that were dumped in the trash.

That facility could be key to the future of the county's solid waste
operations. County Attorney Dave Wagner's legal opinion is that processing
all trash brought to the transfer station would give county government the
legal authority to institute flow control, meaning all haulers in the
county would have to bring waste to a county facility.

That does not happen right now, and a transfer station designed to process
1,000 tons a day now receives 400 tons a day, Public Works Director
Richard Hedrick said.

County Manager Randall Reid said if flow control is not instituted, county
staff would likely recommend to county commissioners that the county get
out of solid waste operations completely.

Of the $400,000 allocated Tuesday from Solid Waste Division reserves, half
would go toward permitting and design of that facility.

The other half would go toward permitting, design and a location
feasibility study for a planned organics recycling facility where food
waste, paper, cardboard and soiled pizza boxes would be brought from the
materials recovery facility."


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Gainesville, FL 32611-0960
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