{"id":15074,"date":"2025-10-22T03:28:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T03:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/15074\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T03:28:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T03:28:11","slug":"environmental-groups-call-for-change-at-pinellas-countys-decades-old-waste-to-energy-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/15074\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental groups call for change at Pinellas County’s decades-old waste-to-energy plant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – Environmental groups from across the U.S. are urging Pinellas County to reconsider its long-running waste-to-energy program. The facility, located next to the county\u2019s landfill in Pinellas Park<\/a>, has been in operation for more than 40 years and processes the majority of the county\u2019s trash.<\/p>\n

Mike Ewall, founder of the Energy Justice Network<\/a>, visited the site this week. He said the Bay Area\u2019s cluster of waste-burning plants, one in Pinellas and two in Hillsborough County, is among the most concentrated in the nation.<\/p>\n

READ: These US cities face the greatest severe weather threats, data shows<\/a><\/p>\n

“When you burn trash, every 100 tons turns into about 30 tons of toxic ash that still has to go to a landfill,” Ewall said. “The other 70 tons go up the smoke stack with air pollution that can cause asthma, cancers, and heart attacks.”<\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/p>\n

The Pinellas County facility is also known as a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant. Environmental<\/a> activists, including Florida resident Marsha Ellis, argue the aging plant poses safety concerns. Ellis pointed to a similar Miami-Dade incinerator that caught fire in 2023, burning for three weeks and forcing nearby school closures.<\/p>\n

MORE: These states rank as the most energy-efficient in 2025, data shows<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Ellis, the Pinellas plant\u2019s age, 42 years, makes it “the largest and oldest in the state,” which she said should prompt local leaders to reconsider relying on it.<\/p>\n

“This one plant in Pinellas has been putting out more mercury pollution into the air than all of the other incinerators in the state combined,” Ellis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mercury emissions peaked in 2018 in Pinellas County, but have gone down and leveled out in recent years. Now, Lee County surpasses it, according to a Florida Department of Environmental Protection graph.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The other side:<\/p>\n

Pinellas County officials said the facility is both safe and essential. A county spokesperson told FOX 13: \u00a0<\/p>\n

“Pinellas County is the most densely populated county in Florida with almost 1 million residents, one landfill with a life of about 72 years remaining and limited land to build a new landfill. The County\u2019s vision is to reach zero waste to landfill by 2050. The Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facility is the most effective large-scale technology for reducing incoming garbage volumes by as much as 90%, extending the life of the county\u2019s only landfill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The WTE facility was built in 1983 to address the county\u2019s growing waste management needs. Recognizing the importance of maintaining safe and efficient operations, the County recently invested $242 million to extend the facility\u2019s operational life by more than 25 years. This upgrade included state-of-the-art technology, such as corrosion-resistant boiler tubes and new cranes. These improvements ensure the facility continues to serve the community effectively and safely for decades to come.<\/p>\n

By reducing waste sent to the landfill, the WTE facility is also reducing methane pollution that results from sending waste to the landfill. Methane is 28 times more potent as a greenhouse gas as compared to carbon dioxide. While the incineration process does produce carbon dioxide, the facility is 100% in compliance with and below air emission standards set by the federal and state governments. The facility uses a Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) that tracks air emissions by the minute to ensure the WTE facility operates in compliance with air emission requirements.”<\/p>\n

For more information about WTE facility, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ: FDOT eyes major upgrades to Courtney Campbell Causeway as environmental concerns grow<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Environmental advocates want the county to phase out the waste-to-energy approach altogether and instead rely on what they call “responsible landfilling.”<\/p>\n

County officials, however, said their focus will remain on reducing waste generation while improving the plant\u2019s efficiency and safety.<\/p>\n

The Source: Information in this report comes from FOX 13\u2019s interview with Energy Justice Network founder Mike Ewall, environmental activist Marsha Ellis, and a statement from Pinellas County Solid Waste\u00a0officials.<\/p>\n

Pinellas Park<\/a>Environment<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – Environmental groups from across the U.S. are urging Pinellas County to reconsider its long-running…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1563,47,115,1157,4226,202,204,203,199,201,200,628],"class_list":{"0":"post-15074","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-pinellas","12":"tag-pinellas-park","13":"tag-st-pete","14":"tag-st-pete-headlines","15":"tag-st-pete-news","16":"tag-st-petersburg","17":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","18":"tag-st-petersburg-news","19":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}