Critics are raising a stink over what could become a very messy problem in Polk County. The landfill where human waste from septic tanks was being hauled was shut down a couple of weeks ago, and now, the companies that empty those septic tanks are having to haul it out of the county at a cost of nearly twice what it had been. Some think the situation could spell disaster for the environment. “We are having to haul to other counties to handle our waste,” Tim Lister, who co-owns Averett Septic Tanks in Polk County, said. It's not a glamorous profession, but Lister and others in it are sounding the alarm, worried that Polk County is about to create an environmental problem. “It's going to create sanitary nuisances — is what we call it in the industry,” Lister said. “That's when people take care of their own septic tank and pump it into a ditch in their backyard.” A couple of weeks ago, Polk County stopped doing business with BS Ranch and Farm, where Polk septic haulers had been dumping their loads for years. In Polk County, it's estimated there are at least 300,000 septic tanks that create more than 30,000,000 gallons of wastewater each year. For now, all of that now needs to go somewhere else. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/polkcounty/polk-county-septic-tank-problem/67-9cce5f0f-ecd7-46bf-b6e9-e1c61d471121