Marion County plans workshop to discuss waste options

With Marion County experiencing growth, especially in its southwest portion, several considerations must be taken into account as businesses, homes, and roads expand.

One such consideration is solid waste as a growing population means a growing amount of waste.  Marion County is in the process of scheduling a workshop where future plans and options regarding waste storage and removal will be presented and discussions will be held on their viability.

Communities have multiple options when it comes to waste disposal and storage. Two main options include storing waste in local landfills or transferring it to out-of-area landfills located nearby.

Marion County’s only public landfill is almost full, said Jody Kirkman, Director of Environmental Services for Marion County, and is in the design and permitting processes of closing.

“We have just about reached the capacity of the existing Baseline [Landfill] facility, and so we went into what’s called a transfer operation.  Basically, that’s just bringing the product to the landfill, and then, we haul it to the Heart of Florida Landfill,” Kirkman said.

According to Heart of Florida Environmental’s website, Heart of Florida Landfill (HOF) opened in 2013.

“The 750-acre tract was fully permitted for use as a Class I landfill by [the] city of Bushnell in January 2011. HOF Landfill will meet the solid waste disposal needs for Sumter County and the surrounding areas for many years.”

“That’s usually how it works,” Kirkman pointed out.

“You find a facility, you kind of make an arrangement with them and say, ‘Okay, we’re going to have this much early on the county.’ This is way before my time, but they [the county] made an early investment in that facility and purchased airspace. It actually helped them get off the ground to develop that landfill. So, we actually came in early at a good rate.”

The Marion County Board of County Commissioners (MCBCC) and HOF have an agreement on how much airspace the county has reserved, and Kirkman updated the MCBCC at their Nov. 2 regular meeting on the remaining airspace and how much longer the county can plan to access it.

During his presentation, Kirkman relayed that based on a 2.5% growth rate between now and then, the county will run out of airspace at HOF in 2034, or 2037, depending on if certain types of waste are added or removed from the totals.

Once the airspace is gone, more will need to be found somewhere, said Kirkman.

“Bottom line is just gaining airspace and just finding it, whether it be internal within Marion County, which would mean creating a new landfill, or seeking it outside of Marion.”

Some of the needed airspace may already be in the county.  Kirkman referenced a facility just down from Baseline as a possibility.

“It’s a waste management facility, hasn’t been in service for years. But they still have capacity. So we’ve been in discussions with them. And we’ve told the board that and it’s one of the options.”

Reserving outside airspace sooner rather than later is sometimes preferred, as cost becomes a factor.

“If I’m purchasing airspace, of course, the earlier I purchase it, the better price I’m going to get because of inflation. So, it makes sense to start getting those things lined up,” Kirkman noted.

Constructing another landfill, as Kirkman mentioned, is an option, too.  But it’s not an option that is available overnight.

“If the board so chose to build a landfill, you’ve got to purchase the land before you can do the design, do the construction. It’s like anything, it’s a seven-year process to get to where you got to be and I’ve got 14 years, well, okay, in seven we better have a decision.”

While 2034 might seem a ways off, Kirkman said discussions are necessary, and the workshop will provide a forum for them.

“That’s where we’re heading with this next workshop is at least to set the stage to have those conversations. Yes, it’s 14 years, but let’s start getting where we need to get to.”

In addition to operating the landfill, the county also operates 18 transfer or recycling stations, which are smaller satellite facilities around the county where residents can bring general solid waste and some special forms of waste such as recycling, batteries, furniture, etc.

Kirkman said that while they haven’t had any discussions about adding additional transfer stations, there are ways the county can work to offer services to its residents.

“We haven’t really considered [adding a transfer station in SW Marion County] yet, even in our current master planning, which we try to do on a five-year basis.  So, that could change, but it’s not in the current five-year outlook. What we are doing is exploring more universal pickup or curbside service. A lot of the franchise haulers in the area actually offer those services to anybody who wants them. The county is at least exploring ways to make it more of a county function. We have a population density where it makes sense, and so, we’re definitely going to explore it because by doing that, it relieves not having to have a recycling center in those areas that have universal service.”

There are also ways, Kirkman detailed, for the existing facilities to accommodate more customers should they need to.

“The current sites we have, we continually monitor them, we try to make improvements. If we know capacity is an issue, we’re going to be looking at bringing larger units. Instead of 40-yard units, we’re bringing 60s. Instead of three units, we go to four, five, or whatever the case may be.”

One additional option is for Marion County to explore waste energy.  Kirkman plans to approach the topic during the upcoming workshop.

“One of the things that will be discussed at the workshop is waste energy. Waste energy is burning garbage and creating power.”

That option has its own set of considerations, said Kirkman, but it also may be the future of waste disposal.

“We’re going to talk about it…a lot of the larger communities, the Hillsborough counties, Pinellas, they’re doing things like that. Pretty sure South Florida is doing it to a degree, too. But that’ll be one of the things we talk about, along with new landfills and all the other options that may be out there.”

While waste energy may be the future, it’s also the present. As Kirkman noted, Marion County is already generating some power from waste.

“The Baseline facility today actually captures the methane that’s created from the process of decaying garbage. And we produce electricity today. I think we’re producing just about two or maybe under two and a half kilowatts per day.”

Kirkman said he’s hopeful the workshop will be held in January.  Marion County’s calendar can be found here.