Polk County Commissioners agreed Tuesday to spend $551,227 to set up a pilot program to collect waste from residents that might otherwise end up along roadsides or in the woods in northeast Polk County.
This is a one-year pilot program will involve asking residents to bring non-commercial waste to the former Northeast landfill on Bannon Island Road near Haines City for set fees that will be based on volume.
Up until now, the only legal publicly operated disposal site was in around the North Central Landfill located between Winter Haven and Lakeland.
The thinking is that if this works, it will reduce the amount of time Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Polk County Code Enforcement staff have to devote to investigating and dealing with illegal dump sites in response to citizen complaints.
The dump sites have included relatively undeveloped sections of Poinciana, the edges of some conservation lands and roadsides throughout the region.
No date was set for the opening of facility pending permitting and other details.
Watch for more news, including in this space, once the project begins operation.
The site will be staffed to make sure waste is disposed of properly in roll-off containers that will be transported to the North Central Landfill daily and that the site is not used to dispose of hazardous wastes.
