Horse manure recycling plan squashed by farmers

Horse manure recycling plans were flushed Wednesday amid concerns about growing food nearby in Palm Beach County.

“We are the salad bowl of the nation. We don’t want to be the toilet bowl of the nation,” said Regina Bohlen of Pahokee.

The county for decades has struggled to figure out what to do with about 200,000 tons of manure left behind each year by a thriving equestrian community.

The latest idea called for recycling themixof horsemanure and soiled wood shavings scooped out of stables — turning it into compost, transforming it into fire logs or even cleaning up and selling the bedding.

But on Wednesday, pollution fears scrapped plans to try to buildahorsewaste recycling facility near Belle Glade.

Farmers and Glades community representatives objected to allowing the proposed facility within one mile of lettuce and other vegetables. They say the contamination risk raises concerns that grocery chains and other produce buyers wouldn’t want their crops.

Palm Beach County is home to about 20,000 horses during the equestrian season, when polo ponies and show horses turn Wellington into an international riding destination. Now Wellington needs to clean up its own mess, former Pahokee mayor J.P. Sasser said.

“The ugliness is coming from Wellington and that wouldbeanexcellent location for this facility,” Sasser said.

The County Commission had initially supported trying to build horsewaste recycling centers inwestern areas, until the farmers’ concerns surfaced this month.

Developers of the proposed Horizon Composting Facility withdrew their plans rather