The area of Pinellas County is the most densely populated county in Florida. There are over 1 million people permanently living in Pinellas County. All the trash the population produces doesn’t just disappear; it is sent to the solid waste facility to be treated properly. There is a huge process the trash goes through, and there is only one solid waste facility in Pinellas County, so the process must be done efficiently. The Pinellas County Solid Waste Disposal Complex receives over 5 million tons of trash, then most of the trash gets burned then turns into ash, and the ash gets used for other uses.
I was surprised with most of the things I learned at the facility. It was very shocking to see that much trash piled up. We went on a tour in the school bus we were on, and we got to drive up and see the landfill where everything got delivered by the trash trucks. The ride up there was very rough as the roads had many bumpy areas. Emmerie Cooper, 10th grade, said, “It’s so awesome how these roads are made of ash that comes from the trash we use.” As we entered the landfill, I could smell the garbage from inside the bus. The men who drive the dump trucks come to the landfill and drop off the trash to then drop it into the pit, and there is a huge metal claw that can grab trash for the workers to sort out correctly. On our way back down, as I kept looking around, I could see all kinds of birds flying over the trash and dust flying around everywhere. Our instructor, Mrs. L, said, “This might be the most trash you see in your lives.’’ So I took one more look at the big piles of trash and realized how much waste there really is in just one county. This experience was overall very educational and I’m glad I got to see the real process of our garbage.
This trip was a part of Mrs. Derenzo’s Environmental Science class.
