Underground Recycling, Trash Vaults To Keep Trash Off Beaches

CLEARWATER, FL — In an effort to keep trash off the city's beaches and out of the ocean where it poses a hazard to marine life, the city of Clearwater is investing $1.2 million in an innovative underground refuse system.

City leaders will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday at 10:30 a.m. at the city parking lot near Frenchy's Rockaway Grill and the Palm Pavilion Clearwater Beach on North Clearwater Beach to celebrate the opening of its new underground trash vaults in three locations.

Earl Gloster, director of Clearwater Solid Waste & Recycling, said the trash and recycling vaults will store trash and recycling underground, safely away from the wind and rain, which can cause trash to spill onto the ground and blow around the beach and into the waterways.

In addition to the three units at the Frenchy's and Palm Pavilion location, the solid waste department is planning to install vaults at BayCare Ballpark, on Poinsettia Avenue near the Opal Sands Resort and at the new Clearwater Fire & Rescue Station No. 46 under construction on Mandalay Avenue.

"In addition to being better for the environment and improving aesthetics on our beautiful beach, the underground refuse system will increase our collection efficiency by increasing volume and decreasing collection frequency," said Gloster. “They will give us some efficiency in being able to not have to service those areas for garbage as many times as we do, especially in the high season."

The Clearwater City Council approved the $1.2 million expenditure earlier this month.

"Having our underground waste units on Clearwater Beach is an exciting next step for our technology in the United States," said Jay Wheeler, CEO and president of Underground Refuse Systems Inc. "The city of Clearwater sets an example as a solid waste innovator that other cities would be wise to emulate."

Headquartered in Kissimmee, Underground Refuse Systems was founded in 2015 as a University of Central Florida Business Incubator Program by longtime friends Wheeler and Ron Howse who were determined to find a better way to manage and collect solid waste, especially in areas with high water tables and nearby bodies of water.

Wheeler said the underground technology eliminates garbage odors and are animal-proof, preventing access to trash by nuisance animals like rats, bears and raccoons. The vaults also eliminate the need for unsightly, overflowing dumpsters, which are often used for illegal dumping. The system includes a locking feature to prevent illegal dumping.

The underground vaults also save space, taking the place of 15 large garbage cans, and they can't be blown over by storms and winds or float away in floods like traditional garbage cans.

In addition to 5-ton receptacles built into 11-foot-deep concrete casings in the ground, the system calls for a specially designed truck to hoist up and dump the bins, then lower them back down into the casing. It takes about 70 seconds for each pickup and the truck is capable of making 125 pickups a day.

While the bin is being hoisted into the truck, metal flaps that support more than 800 pounds fold into place to close the hole and prevent anyone from falling in. Click here to watch a video of the pickup process.

Underground Refuse Systems Inc. installed the first system in the country at Kissimmee City Hall in 2016. Clearwater is the second municipality to adopt the system.