The Florence landfill is running out of space. Now, city leaders are on a mission to find a new place to store the trash. They must make the decision to expand or ship the waste somewhere else.
Everyday on average, 160 tons of household and industrial waste is dumped at the Florence landfill. Space is dwindling at the 80 acre site along Savannah Highway. David Koonce, the city's street, solid waste and recycling manager, says this is an inevitable situation.
"Hopefully, we can get six or seven years out of it," says Koonce. "Hopefully more, but like all landfills, it's filling up."
Koonce says the city has a few options. One option is to build a transfer station and haul the trash to another dump. However, moving the trash out of Florence would cost an estimated $1 million dollars a year.
"It's very expensive to send your garbage somewhere else," says Koonce. "We would have to come up with that money."
A potential downside is that paying for a transfer station could require a rate increase for trash pickup, which Koonce says hasn't happened since 2001. Another alternative is to expand the landfill to the adjacent property, where the Florence Golf and Country Club is located.
"Anytime you're expanding the landfill, you'd have to get the permits and all that might be required through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, but if it's an existing property, you generally think it might be possible to do that," explains Koonce.
It's a possibility that could still take time. Koonce says obtaining a permit could take up to five years, which is why they have to act now. The Florence Golf and Country Club is for sale. While the city and other entities have expressed interest in the property, there's been no announcement yet of a formal offer.
The Florence landfill was built in 1987. In recent years, Koonce says trash intake has gone down. He believes the decline has a lot to do with the fact that more people are recycling. If that downward trend continues, Koonce says that could also extend the life of the landfill.
Everyday on average, 160 tons of household and industrial waste is dumped at the Florence landfill. Space is dwindling at the 80 acre site along Savannah Highway. David Koonce, the city's street, solid waste and recycling manager, says this is an inevitable situation.
"Hopefully, we can get six or seven years out of it," says Koonce. "Hopefully more, but like all landfills, it's filling up."
Koonce says the city has a few options. One option is to build a transfer station and haul the trash to another dump. However, moving the trash out of Florence would cost an estimated $1 million dollars a year.
"It's very expensive to send your garbage somewhere else," says Koonce. "We would have to come up with that money."
A potential downside is that paying for a transfer station could require a rate increase for trash pickup, which Koonce says hasn't happened since 2001. Another alternative is to expand the landfill to the adjacent property, where the Florence Golf and Country Club is located.
"Anytime you're expanding the landfill, you'd have to get the permits and all that might be required through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, but if it's an existing property, you generally think it might be possible to do that," explains Koonce.
It's a possibility that could still take time. Koonce says obtaining a permit could take up to five years, which is why they have to act now. The Florence Golf and Country Club is for sale. While the city and other entities have expressed interest in the property, there's been no announcement yet of a formal offer.
The Florence landfill was built in 1987. In recent years, Koonce says trash intake has gone down. He believes the decline has a lot to do with the fact that more people are recycling. If that downward trend continues, Koonce says that could also extend the life of the landfill.
