It Doesn't Add Up

Placing a landfill in this area could undo years of successful waste management planning. More importantly, though, this plan takes money away from the County and places it in private hands. Private business benefits, yet the public bears all the risks – risks to drinking water, air quality and safety. It’s an equation that doesn’t add up.

Unreasonable Risks: What if an accident or sinkhole breaches the landfill? The effects could have devastating economic consequences throughout Pasco County and the entire region.

• Businesses located in the immediate area of the site, like citrus groves and cattle ranches will be affected first.

• Businesses that rely on the Withlacoochee River and Green Swamp would be next.

• Real estate companies already hit by the downturn will feel the effects.

• And, with all of these other impacts, does anyone believe that Dade City’s thriving Main Street businesses will be untouched?

The Dade City Chamber of Commerce has the same concerns. And because of these concerns, they have officially opposed the landfill proposal.

But there is a solution. The County already has a plan to turn our trash into a usable resource. The County began the process in 1991 when it built the Pasco County Solid Waste Complex. This waste-to-energy facility was designed to be expandable so that it could serve the community for many years.

This waste-to-energy facility takes a liability and turns it into an asset. Unlike the landfill, it turns our unwanted trash into power for our homes. Plus land depreciation and other economic threats to the community could be avoided.

It is a winning situation. We get rid of our trash and we get power from the facility. Since 1991 the facility has:

• Reduced solid waste volume by 90 percent.

• Generated electricity for 15,000 homes a year.

• Earned $15 million in annual revenue, which is expected to increase to $40 million by 2024.

Now that the facility has reached its capacity, lets consider expansion – not a new privately owned landfill. An additional burner to the County’s facility could result in another 550 tons of trash incinerated per day. That’s a 50 percent increase in the amount of electricity generated, and an estimated $7.5 million in additional revenues from the sale of that electricity.

The bottom line is this: Do we want a private company benefiting while we take on all of the risk? Or do we want a County-run program that has already proven its worth and would create electricity and revenue for its citizens?

Community Costs

It Doesn't Add Up