The holiday season has passed, and people have finished opening their presents wrapped in paper and an array of plastic and cardboard packaging.
County residents have wheeled their trash and recyclables to the curb. But where will it all go?
It’s a complicated answer – and one that depends on the material itself.
Since opening its doors in 1998, the Leveda Brown Environmental Park and Transfer Station – named after a former county commissioner – has been a leading example throughout North Central Florida on how waste can be managed.
Gus Olmos, Alachua County’s director of solid waste and resource recovery, says it’s no easy feat and one that requires continual public education.
“The most important and difficult thing to teach is how to properly recycle,” he said.
Each day, the park and transfer station takes in about 775 tons of trash and recycles another 40 to 45 tons of products from homes, businesses and the five rural collection centers in Alachua County.
Every vehicle that enters the park, including garbage trucks, is first weighed in before determining which area to drop off materials. Along the way is a museum-like tour of items to be recycled.
A heaping pile of old tires waits to be shipped off to Global Tire Recycling in Wildwood where they are shredded and chipped into “crumb rubber” for athletic fields and parks. Next to that are stacks of old appliances, such as refrigerators and freezers, that are emptied and sold for scrap metal after the Freon has been removed and recycled.
Yard debris is piled high, waiting for an excavator to crunch it down and prepare it to be turned into mulch that residents can pick up for free.
For citizens hauling in trash, they head to what’s referred to as the “mom and pop ramp,” where they unload truck beds and trailers full of trash onto the “tipping floor,” in a warehouse-like structure. On the tipping floor itself, garbage truck drivers deposit their loads and operators using bulldozers transfer the trash into tractor-trailers that are driven to Union County where the New River Regional Landfill is located.
Recycling
Olmos has worked with Alachua County for nearly 30 years, spending most of his career in the Environmental Protection Department. Regardless of the department, he says the mission and goals of his jobs have remained the same, protecting the environment and wise use of resources.
The recycling operation is another extension of that mission. On the floor of the Material Recovery Facility (MRF), plastic containers, cardboard, cans and more are separated and prepared to be shipped off to buyers.
Plastic/foam egg cartons, plastic clamshell containers, old pots and pans, single-use plastic bags and greasy pizza boxes shouldn’t be put in the bins. The simple mistake of “wish-cycling,” or placing materials in the recycling bins in the hopes that they can be recycled despite not being a part of the recycling program, slows down the sorting process, increases costs and the unaccepted items get trashed anyway.
“We want to collect as much as we can, but we don’t want people to wish-cycle,’” Olmos said. “When in doubt, throw it out.”
Inside the recycling center, items are placed on a belt line and are separated at a fast pace by dozens of workers. Once sorted, a mountain of cans is kept in one place, plastics in another, and cardboard/paper materials in yet another.
As an equipment operator drives a loader over to gather plastics, loud popping noises can be heard as unremoved bottle caps are launched across the facility due to the pressure of their container being crushed. Nearby workers, who separate the materials on the belt line, must wear safety goggles and other safety equipment to prevent injuries from these and other objects.
Cardboard flows in and out of the facility like no other material, allowing workers to fill two semi-tractor trailers daily. Every six months or so, the county sells about 5,000 tons of cardboard to bidders who will recycle the material.
Hazardous waste
In 1999, the county’s Hazardous Waste Collection Center began taking in items with chemicals or devices that are harmful to the environment from people’s households and small businesses.
The division collects motor oil, propane tanks, medicine, paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, light bulbs, electronics and all types of batteries from residents of Alachua County and nine other surrounding counties.
Collectively, the partnership with the surrounding counties brings in about $90,000 annually for the county, which helps sustain the program.
One of the more unique parts of the Hazardous Waste Collection Center is its ability to make hundreds of gallons of biodiesel fuel each month.
The process uses about 100 gallons of cooking oil, 20 gallons of lye and 20 gallons of methanol, which undergoes a chemical reaction that takes approximately 12 hours leaving behind biodiesel and glycerin waste. The soapy, glycerin wash water is used to wash dumpsters, while the remainder is fuel for garbage trucks.
Olmos said the work helps reduce the amount of fats, oils and grease, known collectively as “FOG” from going down drains and clogging pipes, which over time may result in sewer overflows. Sewer overflows can cause health hazards, home damage and contamination in the environment.
Through collections, the Hazardous Waste Collection Center sends out 70 to 100 barrels of hazardous waste monthly, as well as semi-trucks full of old electronics.
The division uses a “bulb crusher” that grinds up fluorescent tube lights to prepare them for recycling. The drums of crushed-up bulbs are sent to a company in Melbourne, Florida which can recycle the glass, metal, and mercury from the fluorescent light bulbs.
Similarly, unused paint is dropped off by residents and placed on shelves for anyone to take for free. The division also recycles nearly 3,000 gallons of motor oil each month.
While the work has its cost, the county’s extraordinary efforts make the program sustainable and cut costs elsewhere. It also prevents the materials from making their way into landfills and reduces the items making their way into the soil, protecting the groundwater as well as the land.
“To clean it up would be astronomical compared to you just bringing it here,” said Joshua Prouty, the county’s household hazardous waste coordinator.
For more information about local recycling or to tour the facilities, visit www.alachuacountyrecycles.com.
By Andrew Caplan - Alachua County Public Information Officer