ECUA proposes new garbage transfer station in Escambia County

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority is proposing a new garbage transfer station in Escambia County.

ECUA says the new system would streamline trash service in the area.

“We should just call it ‘country,’ and it’s just easy living,” Escambia County resident Hazel Godwin said.

That’s how Hazel Godwin describes the community on Godwin Lane and Pine Forest Road.

Her family has owned the property here for more than 70 years.

“It’s just something that we never dreamed would maybe come next to our property,” Godwin said.

The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority is proposing a $15 million transfer station right next door.

“There’s currently one in the city and one in the county,” ECUA public information specialist Davis Wood said. “This one is almost directly center in the county.”

Davis Wood with ECUA says the new system would speed up trash days, cut down on fuel costs, and save truck drivers trips to the Perdido landfill.

“It’s going to go into the very bottom back here, where it’s going to be pressed into a rectangle, and then it’s going to be pushed into the semi-truck that’s going to be over here,” Wood said.

The compacting will allow trucks to carry up to four truckloads of trash at a time.

He says the “enclosed” design works to fight smells, odors, and loud noises.

ECUA will also perform weekly pest control.

“I see where it might make sense for ECUA,” Escambia County Commissioner Steve Stroberger said. “It doesn’t make sense for the neighbors out there.”

ECUA already owns a sanitation system in the area along with the land for the transfer station.

Wood says this is where all the garbage trucks start and end their days.

Several other neighbors tell me they aren’t convinced.

“If you look at how close we are, it’s what, another 20 minutes or so to the landfill, so it’s not that big of a deal,” resident Brooke Forester said.

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“We just prefer it not out here,” Godwin said.

You can also share your thoughts directly with Commissioner Stroberger.

The town hall is set for 5 p.m. on June 16 at the Bellview Library.

No final decisions will be made at this meeting. The goal is to give the community an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal.