Five-year update to Solid Waste Master Plan

The Solid Waste (SW) department of Pinellas County Government is seeking to retain the professional services of a qualified Solid Waste Consultant. The consultant will prepare a five-year update to the 30-Year Solid Waste Master Plan (Master Plan). This Master Plan evaluates the Pinellas County Integrated Solid Waste Management System. It identifies activities, programs, facilities, and technologies that best support sustainable solid waste management in alignment with the County's Mission, Vision, Values, and Strategic Plan.

The Master Plan serves as a guide for solid waste operations and program development, addressing the County's solid waste management needs in the short term (seven years), intermediate-term (15 years), and long term (30 years).

The Solid Waste (SW) department operates as an enterprise-funded system, generating revenue primarily from tipping fees charged for disposal at the landfill and the waste-to-energy (WTE) facility. Additional revenues come from capacity payments, energy production from the WTE facility and recycling efforts.

The Solid Waste Disposal Complex (SWDC) encompasses various facilities, including one active landfill, one closed landfill, a WTE facility, and a stormwater and leachate treatment plant called the Industrial Water Treatment Facility (IWTF). Other components of the complex include a Scalehouse, a Customer Hand-Unload Area (CHUA), a Transfer Area (TA), a metals recovery operation, a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) center, operations for processing yard waste and tires, recycling drop-off sites and support programs. These support programs focus on public education and outreach, business waste services, facility maintenance, and administrative, business, and financial support services.

Additionally, SW manages a franchised residential collection district in the unincorporated Lealman community, serving approximately 6,800 residents under a service contract. The department also oversees an artificial reef construction program that utilizes concrete construction debris diverted from the waste stream to enhance fishing and diving opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Bridgeway Acres (BWA) Landfill is an active Class I landfill covering approximately 705 acres, with 497 acres designated for waste disposal and an expected remaining capacity of 80 years. This landfill primarily receives ash from the WTE facility and any additional waste that exceeds the WTE facility’s capacity. Waste Management (WM) operates the landfill under a contract with the County. In contrast, the Toytown Landfill is a closed Class I landfill that spans 235 acres and is currently under long-term care managed by SW. Both landfills have comprehensive groundwater and surface water monitoring programs, gradient control systems and facilities for managing leachate and stormwater.

The SWDC features a WTE facility that operates at 3,150 tons per day (tpd) capacity and generates 75 megawatts (MW) of power. The facility began operations in 1983 with two boilers, each capable of processing 1,050 tpd. A third boiler was added in 1986. Currently, Reworld manages the WTE facility and its associated metals recovery operation under a contract with the County. In 2021, a significant capital investment of $240 million was completed as part of a Technical Recovery Plan, extending the facility’s operational life by 30 years.

The electricity generated at the WTE facility is primarily used to power the facility itself. Any excess energy that was produced was previously sold to Duke Energy under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This agreement, which compensated for the generated electrical energy and covered avoided capacity costs, expired on December 31, 2024. Starting January 1, 2025, SW entered into a power brokering agreement with Rainbow Energy. This new agreement allows SW to recover some of the funds lost after the PPA ended by utilizing a third-party power broker. This broker monitors grid power demand in real-time, 24/7, and seeks out the best sales opportunities for SW.

The SWDC processes nearly 1,000,000 tons of solid waste annually. Approximately 75% of this waste is sent to the WTE facility to be converted into fuel, while the remainder is either landfilled or recycled. The ash generated from the WTE process is utilized as alternative daily cover at a landfill managed by BWA. In 2023, the County achieved a conventional recycling rate of 49%. However, when factoring in energy recovery, the overall recycling rate reported by the County reached 70%.