What this document is
Alachua County’s existing system as it actually operates — one transfer station, an out-of-county haul, and an agreement with an end date — and the residual stream that remains after a leading recycling programme.
- 260,758 tons were landfilled in 2024 against 201,872 tons recycled: a 67% overall rate, 44% traditional, fifth in Florida. The residual is what is left after the separation work is already done.
- The whole stream aggregates at one County-operated transfer station and is hauled out of county to Raiford. There is no active MSW landfill in Alachua County.
- The agreement that takes it expires 31 December 2028, and the gate rate steps from $30 to $47 a ton from 2029.
Alachua County
Feedstock System Assessment
Alachua County recycles better than 62 of Florida’s 67 counties, and still sends 260,758 tons a year out of the county.
How the system works today
Alachua County has no active municipal solid waste landfill. Collection across Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry, High Springs and the unincorporated county converges on a single facility: the Leveda Brown Environmental Park & Transfer Station at 5115 NE 63rd Avenue, off NE Waldo Road.
There the stream is screened for prohibited material — hazardous waste, tires, medical waste, industrial appliances — then compacted and loaded for transport to the New River Regional Landfill in Raiford, Union County, operated by the New River Solid Waste Association.
The County therefore carries three separate costs on every ton: operating the transfer station, transporting out of county, and the gate rate at the far end.
Volumes, and what they are made of
| Measure | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Landfilled, 2024 | 260,758 tons | VERIFIED |
| Recycled, 2024 | 201,872 tons | VERIFIED |
| Overall recycling rate | 67% | VERIFIED |
| Traditional recycling rate | 44% | VERIFIED |
| Rank among Florida counties | 5th of 67 | VERIFIED |
| Average transported | 775 TPD | VERIFIED |
| Transfer station, normal day | 600–800 tons | VERIFIED |
| Transfer station, post-game peak | ~1,000 tons | VERIFIED |
| Organic fraction of the stream | ~30% | VERIFIED |
The residual works out at roughly 714 tons per day. The seasonal shape is unusual and worth naming: University of Florida term dates drive the baseline, and home football weekends produce short, sharp peaks that the transfer station already absorbs.
The agreement, and its end date
The disposal agreement with the New River Solid Waste Association runs to 31 December 2028. The current gate rate is $30 a ton. From 2029 Alachua County pays $47 a ton — a 56.7% step — with further increases across the following five years.
Alachua supplies roughly 69% of New River’s total volume. A 2025 study recommended continuing the relationship and exercising the five-year extension option; the rate increase prompted the Board to reconsider, and staff have been authorised to issue a Request for Proposal for transportation and disposal services.
In FY2021 the County and its municipalities spent $13.8M on 246,000 tons — about $56 a ton all-in against a $30 gate.
What else is on the table
Balu Forest. The County has acquired land specifically to construct a new disposal facility. Implementation would require at least five years for permitting, processing and construction, funded by the County.
The Archer closed cells. The Southwest Landfill closed roughly thirty years ago and retains usable capacity. The Board has discussed recovering material from the closed cells, and lining the unlined cells to improve groundwater quality.
Complementary strategies. Composting, chemical recycling and refuse-derived fuel have been discussed by the Board as complements rather than replacements. With roughly 30% of the stream organic, composting addresses a real fraction — but not the residual this assessment is concerned with.
The site the County has already designated
The Alachua County Eco Industrial Park occupies land immediately behind the transfer station. 31 acres are dedicated, with 80 further acres identified for future use. The County’s Request for Information seeks parties to design, build, finance, own and/or operate facilities that advance its economic, environmental and Zero Waste goals, and to stimulate markets for locally sourced materials.
For a deployment of this kind that is close to ideal: the land is in County control, its intended use is already this, and it sits beside the point where the entire county residual already arrives.
What this means for a deployment
Alachua County presents a residual stream of roughly 714 TPD that is already aggregated at one point, already being paid to move out of county, and about to become materially more expensive to move. The County owns designated industrial land beside the aggregation point and is actively seeking counterparties to use it.
A Phase Initial deployment of 400 TPD takes 56% of that residual and leaves the existing arrangement to carry the balance during ramp. The sizing is deliberately conservative against a verified stream.
Appendix A — Data status
VERIFIED: 2024 landfilled and recycled tonnage and recycling rates (FDEP annual report); 775 TPD average transported; transfer-station throughput ranges and post-game peak; organic fraction; $30/ton current gate rate; 31 December 2028 expiry; $47/ton from 2029; ~69% share of New River volume; FY2021 spend of $13.8M on 246,000 tons; Eco Industrial Park acreage and RFI scope; Archer and Balu Forest status.
ESTIMATED: composition split by material class; site coordinates, derived from the published street address; employment figures. No published Alachua County waste characterisation study was located during this assessment. That study is the standard Term Sheet phase control and is a precondition of any Exogenesis™ claim.
Appendix B — Sources
- Alachua County Solid Waste & Resource Recovery — departmental publications and the Leveda Brown facility page
- Alachua County 2024 FDEP solid waste management report
- Alachua County Eco Industrial Park — Request for Information, scope of work
- Alachua County Board of County Commissioners — future landfill options discussion and RFP authorisation
- WUFT, April 2026 — transfer-station reporting