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​On Jan. 17, 2023, Commissioner Woodward toured the Solid Waste Authority's (SWA) facilities in West Palm Beach that process more than two million tons of residential and commercial garbage a year. That's all the trash countywide, including recyclables, hazardous materials, and bulk and yard waste.

As an enterprise agency, the SWA generates revenue from user fees, waste tipping fees, energy sales, recovered materials sales, biosolids processing facility fees, and other sources.

The tour also included the Renewable Energy Facility 2 that is considered the most advanced and cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in North America. It processes 3,000 tons of garbage daily. Not only is it reducing waste, but it also generates nearly 100 megawatts of electricity sold to Florida Power and Light, enough to power an estimated 40,000 homes and businesses. That is enough electricity to power nearly all the homes in Boca Raton!

Moreover, it's clean energy! The Environmental Protection Agency considers waste-to-energy one of the cleanest, most reliable and renewable sources. For example:

• Air pollution control technologies make it virtually impossible to detect any smell or visible smoke when the garbage is being burned.
• Ash generated by burning takes up much less room than garbage, resulting in a 90% reduction in landfill use.
• Ash management systems recover over 40,000 tons of recycled, sellable steel, aluminum, copper, and other metals from ash.
• A water conservation and recycling system with a unique rainwater collection system provides processed water to operate the facility.

SWA offers group and/or individual tours of the facility, providing an opportunity to observe the intricate procedure of processing the county's garbage.

For more information, visit swa.org.