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The Heart of Fl=
orida
Solid Waste Working Group contracted with the Hinkley Center for Solid
and Hazardous Waste Management to conduct a survey of the involved
counties to determine current waste management and disposal practices=
and
how the counties might be able to work together to more efficiently
manage their wastes. The mission of the Heart of Florida Solid
Waste Working Group is to seek out viable and sustainable long-term
solutions for municipal solid waste management needs throughout the
region. The Group is comprised of solid waste professionals from Alac=
hua,
Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Gilchrist, Columbia, Hamilton, Hernand=
o,
Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee and Union Counties. The
Cities of Gainesville and Ocala and the New River Regional Landfill a=
lso
participate in the group. Of the fifteen Heart of Florida counties, a=
bout
half operate as an enterprise fund.
The Heart of Fl=
orida
area consists of fifteen counties in the central and north-central
regions of the State. The total geographical area of the fifteen coun=
ties
is 15,606.89 square miles, which accounts for 24 percent of
Florida’s total land area. With only 10 percent (approximately =
1.7
million) of the State’s population, the average housing density=
per
square mile is 56, with Hernando County being the densest of the Hear=
t of
Florida counties and Hamilton County having the fewest houses per squ=
are
mile. Marion is the most populous Heart of Florida County with =
an
estimated 2007 population of 325,023, followed by Lake with 286,499 a=
nd
Alachua with 247,561. The least populous county in the region is Hami=
lton
with a population of 14,704. When looking at projected growth, there =
is
no dramatic shift in the rankings among the counties, although Sumter=
and
Lake show the highest growth rate, with both counties expected to more
than double their populations between 2000 and 2030.
In 2006, Florida
generated 25,039,675 tons of residential and commercial solid waste,
constituting 71% of the total MSW waste. Survey results of the Heart =
of
Florida Solid Waste Working Group showed similar results for the solid
waste collected in 2007, with residential and commercial waste compos=
ing
79% of the region’s total solid waste generated.
The Heart of Fl=
orida
Solid Waste Working Group manages around 76% of all MSW generated in =
the
15-county region, roughly 1,404,775 tons of MSW. Nine cou=
nty
governments export their waste to an out of county landfill. Of the w=
aste
that is exported, 60 percent is still managed in the Heart of Florida
region, while the remaining 40 percent goes to disposal facilities
outside of the region. Seven county governments in the re=
gion
operate their own landfills, and one county contains a regional landf=
ill,
New River, whose three member counties (Baker, Bradford, Union) are p=
art
of the Heart of Florida area. In all, there are six Class I landfills=
and
three Class III landfills operated by the counties in the Heart of
Florida area. Lake County also has a waste-to-energy plant, owned and
operated by Covanta, which receives 80% of the County’s MSW. Le=
vy
and Hamilton counties each export their Class I waste, but still oper=
ate
a Class III landfill. The nine landfills dispose of nearly 2,700 tons=
per
day region-wide.
There are multi=
ple ways
in which counties collect and haul waste. Seven counties have transfer
stations for this purpose. There are more than 70 waste collection
centers in the Heart of Florida area, some that essentially act as
transfer stations. Nine counties have material recovery facilities (M=
RFs)
and eleven counties have household hazardous waste (HHW) collection
centers. Those counties which do not have HHW collection
facilities host household hazardous waste collection events (formerly
called “Amnesty Days”) at various times during the year. =
All
the counties have waste tire collection centers and all but four coun=
ties
have yard waste processing facilities. Of the yard waste processed, 6=
8%
is mulched or composted, 16% is exported out of the Heart of Florida
region, 14% is burned and 2% is landfilled. Eight counties provide
mulched yard waste free to the public. Only three counties (Lake, Put=
nam
and Clay) have county-wide curbside collection service. Two additional
counties, Alachua and Hernando, have curbside collection service in p=
art
of the county. All counties allow for self-haul to either their
transfer stations or collection centers.
The national av=
erage
per capita waste generation for 2006 was 4.65 pounds per person per d=
ay.
The median for the Heart of Florida area in 2006 was 6.01 and the mean
was 5.2 lbs/person/day. As landfills close, many Florida =
counties
are moving towards exporting waste to regional landfills. Although th=
ere
are no new landfills sited by the Heart of Florida counties, six are
planning to expand their current landfills. Since Lake County sends
nearly 80 percent of its municipal solid waste to a waste-to-energy
plant, they are expected to have landfill space at least until 2025,
perhaps longer. Citrus’ current landfill space is projected to
reach full capacity by 2016 and with the expansion they will have spa=
ce
until 2020. However, in order to expand the life of their
landfills, Citrus and Marion Counties, are expected to begin exporting
their waste by at least 2016. Marion County has a transfer station re=
ady
for operation and Citrus expects to open a transfer station in 2010. =
Marion
County is projected to reach full capacity by 2016. After 2016, Herna=
ndo
and Putnam county governments will most likely be the only Heart of
Florida Counties disposing of all their Class I solid waste onsite vi=
a a
municipal county landfill. Baker, Bradford and Union will continue th=
eir
interlocal agreement as the New River Regional Association, and plan =
to
open a Phase II expansion of their facility. This phase consists of
50-plus years of capacity available for the three counties.
The full report can be downloaded from http://www.heartoffloridasolidwaste.org/pd=
f/Heart_of_Florida_Final_Report.pdf.
For additio=
nal
information, contact the Hinkley Center at 352/392-6264.