Lee County Waste to Energy

The Lee County Waste to Energy Facility operating as Covanta is located in Fort Myers and serves the needs of both Hendry and Lee counties. We saw lots of how the plant operated on our tour from the control room, to the boilers, to the smelly garbage dumping. It was really interesting to see the giant claw lifting thousands of pounds of garbage at a time. All of the household garbage collected in Lee and Hendry counties eventually ends up there where it is sorted for reusable and recyclable materials. The lowest value waste is brought to the waste-to-energy plant where it is converted to electricity through combustion. Waste is combusted at temperatures above 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. The energy created during the combustion process is turned into electricity. Our tour guide told us how all aspects of the plant are monitored from the central control room 24/7. The facility processes 1,836 tons of solid waste a day. This field trip was very interesting because coming from Connecticut, I had no idea where our trash here in Florida goes. It was impressive how sustainable we are here in Lee county. It is very impressive how Lee county is at about 71% recycling of all its trash because of the efforts of the power plant. This field trip was really good because it is doing something about this ecological crisis. It was interesting how it is sound proof and an environmental and economic solution to solid waste disposal. I was surprised at how this power plant had state-of-the art technology working towards the global goal of sustainable living.