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’s landfill in Pinellas Park , has been in operation for more than 40 years and processes the majority of the county’s trash.

Mike Ewall, founder of the Energy Justice Network , visited the site this week. He said the Bay Area’s cluster of waste-burning plants, one in Pinellas and two in Hillsborough County, is among the most concentrated in the nation.

"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."

The backstor

See Full Page