Rutherford County is in the early stages of planning for a waste-to-energy facility designed to turn garbage into power or fuel as an option to dispose of trash when Middle Point Landfill runs out of space.
"We're not talking about a simple solution. We're not talking about a solution that's going to cost a million dollars," said Mayor Ernest Burgess. "It could be a hundred million dollars ... and it's critical to the future of our county.
The privately-operated landfill's life expectancy is estimated at anywhere from eight to 15 years, according to Burgess, based on information operator Republic Services provides to the county.