Osceola County garbage collection struggles to keep up with population growth – WFTV

VIDEO: Osceola County garbage collection struggles to keep up with population growth Osceola County commissioners say so many people are moving to the area that they’re struggling to keep up with garbage collection. (Sabrina Maggiore, WFTV.com/WFTV)

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Osceola County commissioners say so many people are moving to the area that they’re struggling to keep up with trash collection.

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County leaders took the first steps towards resolving the issue on Monday.

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County leaders say they issue occupancy certificates for nearly 320 new homes each month. This does not include new homes being built in the cities of Kissimmee and St. Cloud.

This growth has brought challenges for Osceola County’s waste transfer stations, where waste from across the county is collected before being shipped to a landfill.

According to records, the contracted waste hauler’s transfer stations reached daily capacity limits in the first half of 2022, causing the station’s haul trucks to be diverted. This can then lead to interruptions and delays in the separate collection of residential waste.

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Now county commissioners are working to anticipate the problem.

At their regular meeting Monday afternoon, the commissioners voted to hire a consultant to assess how trash is collected and what needs to be done to meet Osceola County’s growing trash needs.

“We will move forward and begin planning where other future sites and facilities may be in our county,” Commission Chairman Brandon Arrington said.

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The county will pay just over $100,000 for an outside group to conduct the feasibility study.

The commissioners say they will likely receive recommendations on what needs to happen next in eight to 10 months.

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