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Waste-to-energy facility celebrates milestone
By SUZETTE PORTER
| Article published on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/051308_pco-01.jpg) |
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| Photo courtesy of Pinellas County Utilities |
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| An aerial view of Pinellas County’s waste-to-energy facility as it looks today. |
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PINELLAS COUNTY - Twenty-five years ago, Pinellas County’s waste-to-energy facility opened for business. County officials marked the occasion with a small celebration on May 7.
While it may seem silly to celebrate the birthday of a trash-burning plant, there is nothing frivolous about the facility credited with extending the life of the county’s landfill, which is no small feat considering the amount of garbage generated by the most densely populated county in the state.
Since 1983, less than 20 percent of the waste received at the facility has gone to the landfill, according to a press release. In the past 25 years, the facility has processed more than 20 million tons of garbage.
The facility also has generated almost nine million megawatt hours of power during its life-time. The electricity is used to power the plant and the remainder is sold to Progress Energy. Thanks to sale of the excess electricity, the county has been able to maintain its price for disposal of trash at $37.50 per ton since 1988.
About the facility
Located at 3001 110th Ave. N. in St. Petersburg, the facility uses three boilers which, according to information on the Pinellas County Web site, are capable of burning 1, 050 tons each of solid waste per day. The boilers are the largest waste-to-energy boilers in the United States.
Pressurized steam created from the combustion process turns turbine generators that create electricity. The plant generates about 75 megawatts of electricity per hour. About 60 megawatts are sold to Progress Energy and the rest is used to power the plant itself. The electricity sold to Progress Energy is enough to power 45,000 homes and businesses every day.
After the trash is burned, the remaining ash is taken to the residue storage and processing building where the metals are separated and shredded and then transported to steel mills and smelters for recycling. The ash that’s left over is used for landfill cover and interior site berms and roadways.
Pinellas County currently recycles about 30 percent of the total waste generated in the county – the result of management practices implemented over the past 15 years. Continuing improvement of the amount of garbage that is recycled is a priority due to the need to maximize the life of landfill and keep the volume of trash within the waste-to-energy facility’s capacity.
The county encourages all its residents to recycle its trash. For more information on recycling and the county’s solid waste program, visit www.pinellascounty.org.
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Article published on Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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