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Recycling expansion fades into background

BY CARL ORTH

SUNCOAST NEWS ASSISTANT EDITOR

Published: November 4, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Even as county officials try to chart a new course for Pasco, recycling remains on the back burner of strategic plan discussions.

Recycling had been seen as one means to delay adding a costly, fourth boiler at the county's Resource Recovery Facility incinerator plant where garbage is burned, Commission Chairman Jack Mariano recalled.

The recession, however, took care of that problem as the amount of trash collections significantly declined.

"We have to make sure we keep that burner running," Mariano said.

The resource recovery plant in rural northwestern Pasco burns solid waste to generate electricity that is sold to private utilities.

In fact, the county is scrambling a bit to meet its obligation to export a certain amount of excess trash to Osceola County, Mariano noted. Adjustments to that contract are being discussed.
Mandatory recycling for heavily populated areas had been one of the goals discussed at a county workshop in February 2008.

It might still happen eventually, but it hasn't materialized yet some 21 months later. Nor has a sorting facility for recyclables at the Resource Recovery Facility.

And nary a word is heard these days about assigning exclusive franchise territories for the nine haulers who serve Pasco. Right now, garbage trucks from several firms might be seen lumbering down the same streets under the county's current licensing system with overlapping territories.

As a strategic plan takes shape, Pasco might want to explore joint, regional programs for recycling, Mariano said.

More metals are being removed from the garbage before it reaches the incinerators, thanks to more efficient magnets, Mariano observed.

If Pasco decides to create its own sorting facility, the project could still take a few years to build, Mariano noted.

"There's no immediate plans" for changes, Jennifer Seney, Pasco recycling coordinator, said last week.

The strategic plan under development could open the door for more recycling options at some point, Seney said.

Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.

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