Sanitation Solid Waste Operating Facility

On February 22, 2023, The North Sumter County Utility Dependent District (NSCUDD) Board of Supervisors, along with Kenny Blocker, District Manager for The Villages Community Development Districts, and representatives from Jacobs “cut the ribbon” on the new Sumter Sanitation Solid Waste Operating Facility in Wildwood, Florida.

Sumter Sanitation, which was purchased by the North Sumter County Utility Dependent District in December 2012, services Marion County, Sumter County and the Fruitland Park area of The Villages. In total, Sumter Sanitation serves 53,667 residential homes and 301 commercial properties. Since the purchase, NSCUDD has contracted with Jacobs to operate the solid waste and yard waste collection system.

We utilize a Covanta “Waste-to-Energy” program that diverts waste from landfills to generate energy from the combustion of municipal solid waste.  Waste-to-Energy facilities convert waste to power steam turbines which generate electricity for homes and businesses, reducing greenhouse gases and landfill waste. The resulting ash is processed to recover metal for recycling while all gases are collected, filtered and cleaned to minimize environmental impact. Waste-to-Energy is the only form of energy generation that actually reduces greenhouse gases and plays an important role in addressing climate change due to avoiding methane from landfills, offsetting emissions from fossil fuel electrical production and recovering metals for recycling.

Last fiscal year, The Villages Waste-to-Energy Program:

• Avoided 47,682 tons of CO₂ equivalent greenhouse gases;
• Generated 26,225,100 kWh of renewable energy or enough to power 28,693 homes for a month;
• Reduced the need for 11,921 tons of coal or 2,002,644 gallons of fuel oil;
• Recycled 2,384,100 pounds of metal that otherwise would have been landfilled.

Previously operating out of a small mobile office, maintaining and operating the fleet of sanitation trucks was extremely challenging, as the Jacobs team was space and weather constrained, with a lack of adequate administrative and maintenance space. In 2021, NSCUDD purchased land and buildings at 1515 NW 44th Drive, Wildwood, Florida to establish a permanent operations and maintenance facility for Sumter Sanitation. A long-time partner of the District, Jacobs made a one-time capital contribution in excess of 1.3 million dollars for improvements to the facility to enhance its operational capabilities. Jacobs invested these funds to redesign the building layout to improve functionality and usability. Improvements included demolition of existing structures inside, large concrete silos outside, build out of the interior space, upgrade of the fire suppression system, HVAC replacement, design and construction of an additional parking area, outdoor lighting, installation of awnings, and more. The new facility will allow for significantly improved onsite vehicle maintenance, increased safety, vehicle wash rack and much more.

The ribbon cutting marks the official use of this greatly improved space, providing office and training space, reception area, enclosed maintenance facilities and a high-pressure wash rack to clean the trucks after use. With this transition, we anticipate Jacobs will operate out of this significantly improved facility for many years to come.