Recently, we went on a landfill tour at the Central Disposal Facility in Cocoa. My daughter, who is six, was curious about where trash was taken after it left our home, so we went to find out.
I scheduled a date and time with Erin LeClair, the landfill tour guide, and when the day came, we met with her at the Cocoa location, got into her van and off we went.
Erin was awesome. She showed us around and we learned about the landfill, the leachate tank, the different collection/storage areas, the Landfill Gas Plant, and more. On the page Your Guide to the Central Disposal Facility you can read about these and also learn more about the Central Facility.
The area is huge, 957 acres to be precise, but at the pace we are going, we will need a larger area just to hold our trash!
All that we throw in the trash goes to the landfill and stays there for a long, long time. The current landfill in Cocoa will be closed in approximately three years when they estimate it will reach 205ft high. Yep, 205ft of trash!
Another landfill is being created right behind the existing one, so when the current one closes, the new one can immediately be used.
In order to make our landfills last so we do not need to use any more land to store our trash, we should reduce the amount of trash we send to the landfills. You can do many things to reduce the amount of trash that goes in your trash can and is taken to the landfills: sell it, give it away, re-use it, compost it or recycle it!
In the tour I learned that only 30% of the population of Brevard County recycle. Only thirty percent! I was really surprised. But the good news is that there is a lot we can do.
So schedule a tour, learn about your trash and see what you can do with it. The whole county will benefit from it.
If we all reduce the trash that goes into our trash cans, if we all recycle, the county does not need to get stuck with our garbage. Instead, we can use the land for something else.
If we all reduce the trash that goes into our trash cans, if we all recycle, the county does not need to get stuck with our garbage. Instead, we can use the land for something else.
Recycle Brevard!
To schedule your own tour, you may contact Erin at 321-633-2043. Families, schools, friends, neighbors are all welcome. Her van fits 10 people and the tour is very informative, an eye-opener. It takes approximately one hour and I highly recommend it.
