|
 |
| Search |
|
|
Observer Classifieds
Place a Classified Ad
Send a Letter to
the Editor
Send a Press Release
Staff Directory
Archives / Search 2003
Community Links
|
|
Top Stories
By MELODY JAMESON
mj@observernews.net
WIMAUMA, FL – A trash collection center here that played a role in this community’s clean-up during recent years is closing this week.
However, shutting down the Wimauma Community Collection Center, operated by the Hillsborough County Solid Waste Department, is being attributed not to financial strain, but to underuse.
Whatever the reason, some area residents believe closing down the collection center inevitably means increasing unsightly roadside dumping.
Established some 20 years ago on Westlake Drive, about 1.5 miles north of S.R. 674, the Wimauma collection center which accepts and disposes of a wide range of trash is scheduled to cease operations Thursday, October 1, according to James Ransom, department spokesman.
Serving as a disposal point for the kind of cast-offs from residents that curbside trash collection service does not handle, the facility has served the needs not only of Wimauma citizens, but also of Sun City Center, Kings Point, Sundance, even Ruskin. The alternative collection centers for the same types of trash operate on S.R. 39 at Alderman Ford and on U.S. 41, south of Gibsonton.
Those other collection sites may be at a greater distance but they are being more heavily used, according to department records, Ransom said. The South County Collection Center on U.S. 41 between Apollo Beach and Gibsonton, for example, during one recent month drew 1,975 customers while only 420 used the Wimauma facility, he added. The numbers for the 11-month period between October, 2008, and August, 2009, were equally unbalanced, with the South County facility recording 22,504 to just 4,700 citizens making use of the Wimauma center, Ransom said.
The same disparity in usage also is evident in the numbers comparing the Alderman Ford traffic to that at the Wimauma facility, he said.
And the usage differences are not a matter of costs to the consumer, Ransom pointed out. Use of each facility is free of charge for all Hillsborough County residents. Any resident with objects to dispose of that will not be picked up at curbside needs only his or her county tax bill showing the annual solid waste assessment and a photo identification such as a driver’s license reflecting the same address as the tax statement, he said.
The collection center accepts large pieces of furniture, large and small appliances, small amounts of construction debris such as from a room remodeling project or a partial roof repair, glass, oil, batteries, tree limbs, and similar items or materials, Ransom noted. Much of what collection centers receive is recycled in one way or another, he said.
On the other hand, Ransom added, the collection centers are not designed to handle the debris from an entire reroofing job, for instance. The appropriate disposal site in that case would be the Southeast County Landfill at the eastern end of C.R. 672, and probably by the roofing contractor.
It is all those large items and miscellaneous debris from residents that will not be collected and recycled that concerns Sherry Nelson most. Nelson, a longtime Wimauma resident, remembers when less populated roadsides in the area were the dumps of choice by many with discards prior to creation of the community’s county collection site. And, it is what she believes now is the community’s future .
Solid Waste department records show about 20 customers per day have been using the Wimauma collection center, Nelson pointed out. “Maybe 10 of them will do the legal thing and take their trash to another collection site,” she said, “the other 10 will not. That’s a lot of junk that will be dumped along the roads,” she added.
Noting that the Wimauma center was upgraded within the last three years, improving customer convenience, Nelson also asked rhetorically what difference the number of customers actually makes considering that the services are paid for through the solid waste assessments collected from every property tax payer.
Acting on her convictions, Nelson also said she has formally asked in writing that the department keep the Wimauma center open and operating.
Emphasizing that the scheduled closure is not related in any way to current budget constraints, Ransom asserted that “if people want to keep the center open, they need to use it.” The county-owned property will be retained, he added.
Anyone with questions about the matter, he added, can call the department at 813-272-5680.
© 2009 Melody Jameson
What follows is a public comments section. This is not from the Observer News staff - it comes from other people and contains their opinions and theirs alone. The Observer News does not control the material that follows. We do, however, reserve the right to remove objectionable material at our discretion. By that we mean that we will edit or delete any content that we deem is inappropriate. By posting your comments, you are stating that you agree to these terms.
Click here to report a comment.
© Copyright 2008 by The
Observer
News Publications and M&M Printing Company, Inc.
Top of Page
|
|
|
Top Stories
Latest Headlines
|
|
