FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Lindsey Sampson, Lee County Solid Waste Division
                (941) 479-8181

FORT MYERS, Fla. (August 28, 2001) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today unanimously approved a plan that will provide a structured system for the removal and disposal of solid waste from the county’s "Outer Islands."

The islands include Upper Captiva, Cabbage Key, Cayo Costa, Useppa and possibly several smaller islands. The move is in response to problems with the current, unregulated manner that garbage from the Outer Islands is being received and stored on the mainland (Pine Island) prior to disposal.

The plan would put in place a franchise district similar to the other districts throughout the county set-up to remove and dispose of residential and commercial solid waste. Like the other franchise districts, residents in the new "Outer Islands" district will be charged a uniform annual fee for the service.

The system could take up to a year to put in place and the proposed rate structure still is being evaluated. Here are the main elements of the plan:

1. At least two receiving sites on Pine Island will be established with county interests in the real property through long-term leases, or agreements for the holding of Outer Islands solid waste until collected by the Pine Island area franchise hauler for disposal at the Waste-to-Energy Facility. The recommended sites are Fisherman’s Cooperative and Pineland Marina.
   
2. A solid waste hauling franchise will be created for transportation of the garbage, by barge, from the Outer Islands to the receiving sites. This will be put out for competitive selection (five-year contract).
   
3. A site on each of the Outer Islands will be provided for the hauling (barge) franchisee to collect the full garbage containers for that island and return empty ones.
   
4. The Outer Islands district will be added as an additional franchise area and a Municipal Services Benefit Unit will be set up to charge an annual, uniform garbage fee to residents.

Currently, households in unincorporated Lee County, the City of Bonita Springs and the Town of Fort Myers Beach pay for garbage collection, recycling and disposal facilities costs through an annual assessment, which is shown separately on the annual property tax bill. There are six franchise districts in the county with an average annual residential rate of $195.72, which is less than the $200.85 average bill a decade ago. The county disposes of its trash in the Waste-to-Energy Facility, which burns it and generates electricity from a steam driven turbine. The facility burns 395,000 tons of garbage a year and generates up to 34 megawatts of electricity – or enough to power about 30,000 homes. Lee County residents also are the number one recyclers in the state.