OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, Fla. — About 400 tractor trailers come and go every day from the Okeechobee Landfill.
They’re hauling trash but some county leaders said they might as well be hauling gold.
Commissioner David Hazellief explains benefits of landfill to WPTV
Okeechobee County Commissioner David Hazellief likes to show the landfill off.
“I think it’s a good thing for Okeechobee,” Hazlellief said, adding the county gets a $6 million cut from trash hauled in from Miami-Dade County.
The commissioner said it keeps property taxes low and has other benefits.
“We just built a brand new jail,” said the commissioner. “And we’re able to do it without doing special assessments, because of income like this.”
Waste Management, the company that operates the landfill, stacks garbage 215 feet high. Wells around the facility trap methane gas reducing the odor, and pollution.
The black tarps collect tainted stormwater seeping through the garbage preventing it from polluting groundwater.
“It’s a very environmentally safe operation,” said Amy Boyson of Waste Management. “We’re monitored by third parties. We protect the groundwater.”
Debra Cleveland shares traffic concerns with WPTV
People who live and work near the landfill have another concern— traffic.
The garbage is brought by train from Miami-Dade County to a transfer station in Fort Pierce, then hauled by truck to the landfill.
A restaurant worker along the truck route, said she’s seen an increase in truck traffic since the landfill accepted garbage from South Florida.
“I can’t even imagine it with more traffic,” said Debra Cleveland, who works at the Crossroads Restaurant.
“I’ve been working here for 20 years,” Cleveland said. “And since I’ve been working here, you can’t imagine the accidents I’ve heard.”
Hazellief said there’s 50/50 split between compliments and complaints. But he also said the majority here are not aware of the benefits of the landfill bringing in even more trash.
