Landfill Summer

Not many people consider a tour to the landfill on their day off a likely choice but I decided to sign up for the Solid Waste Authorities behind the scenes tour months ago. There is actually a wait list of three months to have a personal guided trip. This 1400 acre facility houses the landfill, waste-to-energy plant (WTE) and Residential Materials Recycling Facility in Palm Beach County. In the picture below you are viewing the 160 ft. above sea level landfill. We call these the mountains of South Florida.


The most interesting part of this tour was the seeing the sorting tables of the recycling facilities. Currently they process an average of 385 tons of recyclable materials per day at this facility. I also learned that the reason you don't recycle your steel cans in Palm Beach County is because they use a large overhead magnet to separate those metals and then they shred it for easier transportation to the Ferrous Processing Facility. Aluminum cans that are mixed in with the trash are also separated from the rest of the waste stream by way of eddy current separators. These cans are then transported to the recyclers. The best money maker at the recycling facility is plastic. They make great money on the #2 plastics and on the newspaper as well due to the large bulk they receive. Glass is really the only thing that is recycled that they don't make any money off of at all.

What's that you say? Oh just the normal kettle of vultures flying over the landfill. If you search these groups, normally you can spot a few Wood Storks and a Bald Eagle. One of the problems we have in South Florida is with exotic species. At the landfill you can find the exotic Sacred Ibis which is currently being eradicated by the FL Fish and Wildlife Commission. I heard that they still have about 15 individuals at this facility and are awaiting FWC to come and take care of the matter. In addition to unwanted birds this 1400 acre area is also the home to a thriving bird rookery. In 2006 there were 500 Wood Stork nests documented. The only birds I saw during my visit other than these vultures were a pair of Sandhill Cranes hanging out by the Compost Facility. Maybe next time I'll ask for the special gull ID trip (they don't have one of those but they should!).

For more information about the Sacred Ibis in Florida here's an article and for more information on all the exotics in Florida check out this sepcial supplement from the FL FWC.