Sinkholes + Landfill = Bad Idea
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 ranges, will be affected first.
- Businesses that rely on the Withlacoochee River and Green Swamp would be next.
- Real estate companies already hit by the economic downturn will feel the effects.
- And, with all 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 this 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 form the facility.
Since 1991, the facility has:
- Reduced sold 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.
When the facility reaches capacity, let’s 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 benefitting 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?