BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -
Bay County commissioners voted Tuesday to start the process of shutting down the incinerator saying the costs were getting too high to maintain it and the revenue produced from the facility wasn’t covering it.
“It’s been hundreds of millions of dollars that it’s cost the taxpayers since 1984,” said Commissioner Tommy Hamm. “It’s been bought, sold, and bought again. It’s been a huge money pit for the Bay County taxpayer.”
Officials say the shutdown process will take about a year and as the process moves forward, major commercial trash disposal services will be transitioned to Steelfield Landfill.
“We have just copious amounts of land out there and we have plenty of room, plenty of capacity. Now our tipping fees are going to be cut way down,” said Hamm.
Officials say without the incinerator the tipping fees or trash disposal fees could drop to $35 per ton, but if they kept it running, they would only go up.
“The tipping fees right now are $56,” said Commissioner Bill Dozier. “If we continue on the path that we’re on we would have to raise them to approximately $80 per ton.”
During the shutdown, commissioners say they will work out the details for staff and residents.
“We’ll have discussions with our operator, Engen, and discuss the best way to move forward with this with their staff and for everybody, and the citizens,” said Dozier.
County leaders say they want the best for the taxpayers and as times change, the county needs to change with it.
“As the market has changed and we’ve been able to acquire more property out at the landfill, it just makes more financial and business sense to move in this direction to close down the incinerator,” said Dozier.
County leaders say they are working on an alternative for locals who regularly used the incinerator for smaller hauls so they won’t have to take trash across the county.
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September 02, 2020 at 09:27AM
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Bay County commissioners vote to shut down incinerator - WJHG
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