S2Li has served Marion County as one of its solid waste consultants since 2005. The firm was initially tasked with examination of the County’s solid waste operations, with a goal of defining methods by which operations could be improved. In performing the study, S2Li observed a significant imbalance between system costs and system revenues, noting that improvements in efficiency alone would be incapable of balancing the two. S2Li’s task morphed into a more detailed assessment of the system’s finances, which resulted in a Board decision to discontinue the transferring of waste for disposal in Georgia, opting instead to utilize remaining capacity within the County’s existing Class I Landfill. Within two years, the County’s solid waste expenses and income were brought into balance.
S2Li was twice tasked with the preparation of 5-year solid waste management plans for the County. The initial plan included a comprehensive review of system finances, while the second iteration concentrated on the transition from disposal within the County’s baseline landfill to hauling out to the Heart of Florida Landfill.
S2Li was also assigned the assessment of contamination associated with the unlined, vestige Newton Landfill. This included documentation of the extent of waste disposal, and determining the lateral and vertical extent of contamination. Upon the acceptance of findings by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, S2Li was tasked with the development of a replacement for the Newton Citizens Convenience Center, located on top of the closed landfill site. The highly-used center is serving the County’s residents well.
More recently, S2Li was tasked with examining interest in the formation of a solid waste authority, including the identification of candidate disposal sites that could potentially serve the disposal needs of authority members.