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Highlands Today

Kudos To Wheeler For Recycling Projects

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Highlands Today Staff

Published: February 3, 2008

Ken Wheeler, the director of solid waste, is into recycling, and Highlands County should be grateful about that.

The county is likely to pick up more than $3 million in two grants – nearly one-third of the $10.5 million allocated – that Gov. Charlie Crist convinced the Legislature to award in local-government grants for innovative recycling projects.

Highlands had lots of competition. A total of 140 cities and counties applied for the grants.

After reviewing all 140 applications, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection picked the top 33 projects based on merit.

The department rated one of Highlands' projects as the second best in the state. The grant is for $1.65 million to pay half the cost of the county's new asphalt plant.

Despite the fact that the state asphalt pavers association seems to be trying to derail the project, Highlands County commissioners, showing faith in Wheeler, voted last August to borrow $3.3 million to buy an asphalt plant.

The plant will be on the county landfill and use methane gas, which is produced by rotting garbage, for the fuel and heat needed in the asphalt production process.

This is an important project and other counties in the state are apparently watching it with keen interest. It will be asphalt plant in the state that is owned and operated by a local government.

More importantly, if it is successful, the savings in road paving and construction costs for cities and counties could be significant.

The second grant is for $1.7 million and also would use the county landfill's methane gas to produce clean, renewable, non-polluting energy. The recovered and reconstituted gas would be used in the county's vehicles and heavy equipment, and would be cheaper than buying gasoline or diesel fuel.

Finding renewable sources of energy is getting to be a big deal now and will probably continue to be that way because of the price of oil and gas.

Congratulations to Wheeler and his staff for their work in securing the grant money.

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