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Suncoast Pasco News

Mandatory Temptation

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THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: October 13, 2007

One of the virtues of Pasco County's blue-bag recycling is its low-key, voluntary, shucks-why-not nature. That might, however, be about to change. If it does, that would be unfortunate.

A major reason the county may try to force people to recycle is the fact that the Pasco County Resource Recovery Facility, the complex in northwestern Pasco where garbage is burned to produce energy - is operating at or above its design capacity. Upping the capacity could cost in the plush neighborhood of $150 million, according to estimates.

So, if increasing the amount of garbage the resource-recovery facility can handle is going to cost an arm and a leg, reducing the amount of waste reaching it is a much cheaper alternative, some County Commission members believe. The capacity crunch at the resource recovery plant is making the case for the switch, Commissioner Michael Cox said this week.

Hence the flirtation with mandatory recycling, since voluntary recycling isn't doing the trick. County Administrator John Gallagher, however, is warning a switch to mandatory recycling won't be cheap either.

So, the County Commission may want to look a bit more before leaping into mandatory recycling or only try it on a small scale before fully committing to it.

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