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Suncoast Pasco News
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Published: February 16, 2008
People should always be wary when government, on any level, tackles a seemingly big problem. Often in such cases, Murphy – his famous law warns that if anything can go wrong it will – tends to be an optimist. Even worse, the resulting storm and stress can provide cover for either mischief or plain wrong-headedness.
That is what's happening in Pasco County. The County Commission is considering ways to deal with the Pasco County Resource Recovery Facility being overwhelmed at times with more trash than it can burn to produce energy. This forces the county to pay to ship the excess garbage outside Pasco for disposal. Expanding the plant would cost tens of millions.
One sensible approach the county is exploring is boosting recycling. One idea on the table is changing the county's recycling program from voluntary to mandatory. That is less sensible.
Even worse, commissioners have become fixated on carving the county into exclusive franchise areas for the county's nine private waste haulers. This anti-competitive idea has surfaced over the years, but until now the commission had the wisdom to say no.
Frankly, we can't understand how franchise areas, whether four, nine or 100, would help the consumers of waste-hauling services in Pasco County.
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