by Marty Procter, South Lake Tablet
On March 29, Lake County Board of County Commissioners held a solid waste workshop at the Tavares Pavilion on the Lake. They invited expert consultants Mitch Kessler of Kessler Consulting and Sam Levin of S2Li to answer a series of prepared questions and lead an open-ended discussion. The wide-range of questions and discussion included recycling, hauling, cost escalation, and next steps. All five County Commissioners were on hand for the event along with presenter Mary Hamilton, Operations Director, and other representatives of the Lake County Public Works Department. County legal managers, city representatives, and hauler management were also present to ask, answer, and clarify questions.
A brief summary: There are a lot of challenges to recycling and solid waste programs. County leaders want to lower disposal costs, improve service, and enable successful recycling.
Challanges:
Trash – A lack of understanding on what is recyclable leads to contaminated inbound material.
The Collections Industry – rising costs in equipment and employee availability, in addition to restrictions put in place by the Florida legislature limiting the ability of local governments to alter, exit or terminate contracts with haulers.
Action Items noted by the County Manager –
- Engaging and educating the public to reduce contamination of the recycled waste stream.
- Committing to working to improve communication and setting expectations with the existing, contracted haulers.
- Taking steps to establish a baseline with a waste composition study (what is in the trash and recycle stream today).
Consultants suggested that the county brace for market fluctuations (both in pickup cost and recycled material value) and address contamination rather than eliminate that part of the program.
Recent bids were shown to be increasing substantially (60%+) over previous/existing contracts. The recent state legislation exposes the county to extreme, multi-million dollar costs if contracts are terminated.
For more information visit: https://www.compostingcouncil.org/or https://recyclingpartnership.org/ and https://www.lakecountyfl.gov/trash-recycling
