It takes Johnell Gainey less than a minute to walk from his parents’ house to the Florence Construction and Demolition Landfill in southeast Gainesville.
“We are standing exactly 168 steps from my parents’ front door,” Gainey said.
What used to be a wooded area where people illegally dumped old appliances and cars is a 35-foot tall mountain of trash with a pretty bad smell when the wind blows.
“ It's like a rotten egg smell,” Gainey said.
The Florence landfill has been operating in southeast Gainesville, a predominantly Black neighborhood, since 1994.
“That's a church right there that butts up right up against it,” said Gainey, pointing to nearby buildings. “That's an organic farm right there.”
“It’s just horrible,” Gainey continued. “Your home is supposed to be a place where you want to enjoy it.”
Gainey is one of a handful of people who’s been leading the fight to get the Florence landfill permanently closed since 2018. That year was the sixth time local county officials voted to ratify the landfill’s permit.
Currently, the landfill operates under an emergency order from the state that dates back to 2022, when subtropical storm system Nicole hit Florida. That order expired in 2024 but it allows for a 24-month grace period, meaning the landfill should close in August 2026 if the state does not renew the order. Gainey and other residents want to make sure that’s what happens.

At an Alachua County commission meeting on Jan. 28, Patrice Boyes, an attorney who represents Southeast Landholdings, Inc., which owns the Florence landfill, said it held a special use permit from Alachua County and that it has not expired. She also said an extension notice was given to the commission on Nov. 6, 2024. “And by our math, the extension goes to Oct 29, 2027,” Boyes said.
Before the meeting, residents who live near the landfill rallied outside the Alachua County government building.
“What worries me more than anything is the smells and the pollution in the air, because I don’t know what I’m inhaling,” said Kawana Robinson, who’s been living by the dump for 30 years.
Other residents cited concerns about water pollution, noise and potholes that the sanitation trucks help to cause.
“My kids are grown now but when they was coming up, I complained about the road,” said local resident Eddie Darby. He says the potholes were so bad, when it rained, his kids couldn't walk near the street, instead they had to crisscross across people’s lawns to reach the school bus
“It’s just not fair,” Darby said.
For these residents, the landfill is a symptom of a much larger problem.
”If East Gainesville is viewed as a place that you just go dump old stuff,” Gainey said, “then what incentive does that give the city, the county or any private corporation to come in East Gainesville and do business? Nobody is trying to spend money in a dead hole, you know? And if you look at East Gainesville, it pretty much looks the same as it did 40 years ago. It pretty much looks the same.”

At the Alachua County commission meeting, Commissioner Anna Prizzia said the landfill’s owner, Paul Florence, had operated “as responsible an operation as he could
could for an unlined dump and really tried to be a good neighbor but it's time to find other solutions for our waste.” Prizzia expressed hope that the Florence family could work with the commission on a zero waste solution.
Boyes, the attorney, said there were no ongoing violations in terms of air and water pollution. “There’s no real justification to ask for an early closure,” Boyes said.
After hearing complaints from residents, the commission passed a six-part motion. Among other items, it includes monitoring air pollution, checking data from groundwater tests for water pollution, and sending a letter about residents’ concerns to the state government. It’ll be up to Tallahassee officials to decide whether to renew the state order.
Gainey says the state’s involvement doesn’t make him optimistic since Alachua County’s predominantly Democratic politics often clash with the state’s Republican-controlled legislature. But he says, they have no choice but to continue.
“They’re not going to come rescue you. You’re going to have to rescue yourself,” Gainey said.