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Waste-to-energy facility undergoes upgrades
Lloyd Sowers reports
TAMPA, Fla. - After more than three months of work – and millions of dollars spent – Tampa's Waste-to-Energy Plant is almost ready to go back online. The city spent more than $100 million to get the facility at McKay Bay going again.
"We were spending $150,000 a day to haul our waste to the landfill and losing out on revenue from electricity," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.
Officials said the company that was hired years ago to run the city-owned plant let things go.
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"There was a lot of deferred maintenance on our facility," said Larry Washington, Tampa's solid waste director. "It got to the point where it was dire to get in there and tweak our engine some."
The tweaking has gone on day and night, and they hope to finally restart the plant later this week. At least two trash-to-energy plants have been shut down in recent years, including one in Detroit, Michigan.
Some environmental groups say there's a risk of harmful emissions.
"We have been in compliance. We have always complied. We've got checks and balances on this 24 hours a day," said Castor.
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She believes the trash-to-energy plant is more sustainable than burying trash in a landfill. Fixing the plant costs $100 million, and the city is issuing bonds to pay for it. But if you live in Tampa, you'll still pay more for garbage collection soon – an average of $3 more, with price hikes to follow over a period of years.
Castor said the city hasn't raised trash utility fees since 2012.
With the old operator out, Tampa will be one of only two cities in the country to own and operate its own trash-to-energy plant.
"We'll be combusting our garbage again in short order, producing electricity," said Castor.
The city is also offering compost containers so that residents can compost waste at home.
There are also plans to deal with the food we leave on our plates. Tampa's food waste program will begin in restaurants, according to Castor.
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