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After meeting Friday with York County, Pa., officials to discuss his idea of trucking this county's trash to that county's incinerator, Frederick County Commissioner Charles A. Jenkins came away convinced that incineration is a good option.

Jenkins (R) said the trip reinforced his "belief that waste-to-energy is a proven and effective solution," he said.

On April 30, commissioners voted to suspend plans to build a $527 million incinerator in Frederick County. Commissioners John "Lennie" Thompson Jr. (R) and David P. Gray (R) voted against the suspension. Jenkins voted for the suspension after suggesting that Frederick County consider using another county's incinerator instead. Jenkins supported the suspension because of the strong opposition from residents and threats of a lawsuit.

Though he admits the price tag to build the facility is high, Jenkins said it is more cost effective in the long-run than hauling the trash to landfills in Virginia. The county currently hauls all its trash to Virginia. The costs fluctuate, based on fuel prices.

"When I compare the costs to long hauling it still makes sense," he said.

York County is considering expanding its incinerator by 600 to 750 tons, Jenkins said. The incinerator can now handle 1,300 tons of trash per day.

Frederick County produces 500 to 600 tons of trash per day.

Jenkins said incinerator opponents have threatened the board with lawsuits, if the county moves forward with building a facility here. He said if York County refuses to take Frederick County's trash, he will vote in favor of building an incinerator when the discussion comes back up later this year. Jenkins feels so strongly that an incinerator is right for Frederick County, that he is not concerned it will hurt his chances to get elected as a state delegate in 2010.

"I am not going to let the threats and fears that it will cost me my political future stop me from doing what I think is the best solution for Frederick County," he said.

Jenkins said York County would most likely not want all of the county's trash for its facility, but was unsure of specifics following the meeting.

"We are waiting to get numbers from them on how much they would take and how much it would cost," he said. "I kind of laid it on the line telling them ‘I wanted to see if there was a possibility and if they had any interest.' It was not an automatic ‘no.' I do think they do not want all our [trash]. They're not going to expand their plant to take all our trash."

Jenkins said trucking trash north to the York County incinerator isn't an ideal solution.

"Do I want 15 or more truckloads of trash driving through Pennsylvania?" he said. "No. And again we are dependent on someone else taking our trash."

Jenkins said he next plans to meet with Baltimore County solid waste officials. That county is also considering expanding its incinerator.

Frederick County commissioners have also asked solid waste staff to look at conventional and advanced disposal methods, such as microbes to eat trash and expansion of the Reich's Ford Road landfill as alternatives to building an incinerator.

If commissioners contract with an outside incinerator, they should expect some opposition.

"I'm not happy with the idea of taking trash to another facility," Commissioner Kai J. Hagen (D) said. Hagen has been the most outspoken commissioner against building an incinerator.

E-mail Sherry Greenfield at sgreenfield@gazette.net.