Months after dust violations, Coastal Waste outlines changes; neighbors say they're already seeing a difference

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla (WINK) — After the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) documented dust leaving a Collier County recycling facility and cited it for violating state regulations, Coastal Waste and Recycling says it has made significant changes to keep dust from escaping its property.

The company recently submitted an eight-page response and a dust control plan to DEP detailing what it says are new and expanded efforts to reduce dust at its Naples Hauling & Material Recovery Facility on Yahl Street.

For one business owner who has spent months sounding the alarm, the difference is already noticeable.

"The dust has been significantly better," said Joseph Barbera, who owns a nearby automotive shop. "They are doing what they seem to be needing to do to control it. It sounds like they have a pretty active plan to continue controlling it in the future, which is very pleasing on my end and to many of our neighbors. We have definitely noticed a significant pollution decrease."

The changes come after more than nine months of reporting by WINK Investigates, which first raised viewers' concerns about neighboring businesses in November and later commissioned independent testing that found fiberglass, gypsum, and cellulose fibers in dust collected near the facility.

Coastal acknowledges DEP findings

In its response to DEP, Coastal does not dispute the observations made during the April 10 inspection.

The company wrote: "During the inspection, it was noted that unconfined emissions of particulate matter were observed. We appreciate the opportunity to discuss the potential non-compliance and would like to provide a dust control plan that includes both preventative and mitigative measures that Coastal has implemented and the ongoing efforts to minimize dust emissions throughout the facility."

DEP inspectors documented dust leaving the site during active operations and noted particulate matter collecting on nearby vehicles and properties.

One issue identified during the inspection was a broken pipe supplying water to the facility's misting system.

Coastal says the timing was unfortunate.

"On the April 10, 2026 inspection, we had a pipe repair while FDEP inspectors walked the facility, causing processing to halt until misters were repaired," the company wrote.

According to Coastal, the repairs were completed before inspectors left.

The response also says the company now keeps replacement plumbing parts on-site for future repairs.

As a result of the inspection, DEP required the facility to:

Repair its dust control systems, including sprinklers
Provide documentation showing when repairs are completed
Develop a comprehensive dust control plan to prevent future violations

WINK Investigates reached out to Coastal Waste and Recycling for an updated interview about the changes outlined in the documents. The company has not responded.

Inside Coastal's new dust control plan

The documents submitted to DEP outline several improvements the company says have been made over the past several months.

More water around the property

Coastal says it installed seven additional perimeter misting units along the western property line to create more water coverage where dust could leave the facility.

The company also says it plans to install a second well to provide more water for dust suppression once permitting is complete.

New dust suppression equipment

According to the response, Coastal has:

Installed 18 additional dust suppression nozzles throughout its processing equipment.
Added one Fire Tech dust suppression cannon, with a second scheduled for installation later this year.
Added seven misting fans throughout processing areas.

The attached site plan submitted to DEP shows where many of those new systems have been installed around the property.

Watching the weather

Coastal says it has implemented an Air Velocity-Operations Events Table, a software program that monitors wind speed and direction.

If conditions become favorable for dust to travel off-site, the company says operations can be slowed, stopped, or restarted based on those conditions.

That stood out to Barbera, who read the entire plan and Coastal's response.

"I like the fact that they seem to have a good plan," he said after reviewing the documents. "They also have devices that are going to tell them that it's too windy and we should probably shut down a little bit or control the dust... that seems to be one of our biggest issues. When the wind is very high, the dust travels."

Barbara continued to say, "I really like reading this. I like the fact that they seem to have a good plan if they want to continue to be our neighbor."

More sweeping and more water

The company also says it has:

Increased sweeping to eight to ten hours every day during operating hours.
Begun tracking daily water usage dedicated to dust suppression.
Reported using between 8,000 and 20,000 gallons of water each day, depending on weather conditions.

Neighbors say improvements are visible

Barbera says he has noticed a dramatic difference over the past several weeks.

"Our vehicles aren't being covered in dust where we're embarrassed to drop them off. My shop is not being completely saturated with filth. My own breathing... I feel like it's been better. My son's breathing... we just don't feel like we're breathing this debris that we were on a continuous basis," Barbera told WINK Investigates.

After reading Coastal's dust control plan, he says the improvements match what he's been seeing firsthand.

"I personally have driven by and seen water nozzles that I've never seen before, so that tells me that they are definitely trying."

He also reviewed WINK News drone footage showing wet ground and active misting equipment.

"They're keeping the ground wet. The nozzles were running on the heavy stacks of debris. It just looks like a very conscious effort to do the right thing, and that's all that really matters to me."

While Barbera says the progress is encouraging, he believes continued oversight will be important.

"What I do see is them addressing the problem, and the problem was keeping their debris in their facility," he said.

He hopes the improvements continue.

"Keep up the good work, Coastal. I'm happy."

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