Plans for solid waste transfer station move forward in Lakeland
LAKELAND — Lakeland officials took the first step toward building a solid waste transfer station on North Combee Road on Monday morning.
The city commission voted unanimously to approve a nearly $600,000 contract with Geosyntec Consultants Inc. to design and permit a solid waste transfer station on 16.5 acres of land off North Combee Road, near the intersection of Bob Rawls Road.
Gene Ginn, Lakeland's manager of solid waste and recycling, told commissioners a potential 12,000- to 20,000-square-foot facility would greatly help improve the efficiency of the city's waste collection services. If built, Ginn said the site would be the first of its kind in Polk County.
"With waste hauling it's all about efficiency, how fast can we get the trucks empty and how fast can get them to the next customer," Ginn said. "This really helps especially when you don' t have to run 15 miles to a landfill or disposal facility, you can only run 5 [miles]."
A solid waste transfer center is a place where residential household waste gets brought by garbage haulers to be temporarily stored. The incoming trucks are weighed on a scale to determine how much waste they are carrying, before dumping it on a level concrete floor inside a building and returning to their route. The garbage may be sorted, then loaded into transfer trucks capable of holding up to 25 tons — more than twice the capacity of a normal garbage truck — to bring it to the landfill.
"One of the most important benefits is the improved safety for our trucks," Ginn said.
There have been issues with Lakeland's garbage trucks getting buried while trying to unload at the landfill, Ginn said, as pieces of trash get pulled up into the vehicle's draft shaft or causes damage to hydraulic lines and fuel tanks running along the truck's underside.
These garbage trucks have increased in price to nearly $400,000 a piece, according to Ginn, so he said he would like to avoid extensive damage to the vehicles and extend their operational lifespan. A solid waste transfer station would do this as the trucks unload on a solid, flat concrete pad reducing the risk for damage. It would also keep the city's garbage trucks from spending lengthy amounts of time waiting to access the landfill.
The city's garbage trucks have run into wait times of up to 90 minutes to dump a load at the landfill, according to Ginn. At two trips per day to the landfill, he calculated that's up to three hours waiting in line instead of pick-ups along a route.
"The longer we spend at the landfill, the less efficient we become," he said.
The transfer station would also allow Lakeland garbage haulers to travel a shorter distance to unload, and then the city could decide what time to load onto transfer trucks to bring to the landfill to avoid roadway traffic and lines.
It will cost the city approximately $2 million for the land and $8 million to construct the facility, Ginn said. He believes these projected costs can be offset by opening the facility for use to other municipalities and private haulers.
A cost analysis study performed by Geosyntec indicated if Lakeland were to partner with other garbage haulers to dump 200 tons at the facility, it could potentially see a return on investment at the site after seven years. All load or unloading of would occur inside an enclosed building.
"I'm confident with building's design we can manage odors and anything that might come out of the transfer station," Ginn said.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Plans for solid waste transfer station move forward in Lakeland
