Polk County fights company that recycles smelly human waste, rotten food

BARTOW, Fla. — Polk County could soon have stronger legal power in its fight against BS Ranch and Farm, which recycles human waste, out-of-date foods and mulch into soil that is sold to growers.

Lawyers hired by the county are close to filing papers that will ask a judge to shut down the East Lakeland recycling company, officials said.

Officials say the company has become a public nuisance over the last three months and has failed to produce a plan to address a noxious odor that has enveloped parts of the city and county.

Plans to file an injunction started after county commissioners learned the company continued to accept hundreds of tons of waste from an Orange County wastewater treatment plant after a cease-and-desist order was issued.

Associated Press