Waste to Energy Plant problems with capacity

[crodg 0]

First post, but I love the site.  Probably a dumb question but here goes...

I have a central city with 8 surrounding cities, all with a garbage deal to the central city.

The central city has a waste to energy plant (WEP) funded to the exact amount of the total paid by all eight neighbors.  This is around $420, so not nearly 'full' capacity. Regional pop is only about 35,000.

The 8 surrounding cities start saying 'garbage gaining ground on nervous noses.'  So, I go to the central city and increase WEP funding to $1000.

However, when I go to the budget board it will not allow me to increase the neighbor deal for any of the surrounding cities.  Basically, it won't let me increase the capacity.

But, if I build another WEP, then I can sell more garbage capacity to the surrounding cities, even if the total expenditure for both of them is still less than full funding one of them (i.e. running each WEP at 420 for 840 total funding versus only one at 840). This is true even if I run the single WEP at full funding (1000) for several months.

I'm inclined to think this is yet another playability issue in game that is a great simulation, but chock full of clunkiness.

BTW, it's completely stupid that the data view time series for garbage does not show neighbor deals!  You can buy 'capacity' but according to your chart you don't have any.  This makes it unnecessarily difficult to gauge your export garbage needs.

 

FYI: I have installed the patch but do not have the RH expansion pack.

 

Many thanks for any help offered!

[SC4BOY 20]

The WEP plant will burn a maximum amount of 500 tons per month.. And it does this even if you set funding to zero... In fact setting it to zero, some claim, makes the pollution very low which is a benefit (though some call it "cheating"... its your game so I doubt anyone will know.. lol .. and it is part of the Maxis game just like UDI's etc.. sooo.. its your call) Adding more plants is the only way I know to increase the trash disposal capacity... Be sure to keep all "deals" high enough that no garbage accumulates as pollution.

And of course the STEX has some custom lots dealing with more extreme ways of dealing with garbage.. a quick search for "garbage" will probably get you at least 10 lots for it..

Happy Sim'ing

[crodg 0]

Many thanks for prompt reply!

Zeroing out WEP doesn't seem to be cheating, since you get no power out of it and it takes up 4x4 zone.  Much better than a landfill, however!  Cool that it still burns off 500 a month...

I suppose the solution is to build more WEPs to keep the other cities 'clean' but zero out the ones not needed for power.

Can you trust the advisor panel on garbage issues?  I want to avoid the garbage 'tipping point' where the red areas show up in the data view, but it seems the advisor has a hair trigger.  Considering the garbage graph doesn't show export deals, when do you know to build more trash capacity in the central city for the suburban cities?

Sorry so many queries and thanks in advance! 

[SC4BOY 20]

I never listen to ANY of the posts unless they are in RED .. Otherwise, you can read em, but DO what you learn from your own thinking/trials.. This is, I believe, the WORST feature ever made for SimCity.. If anything in MOST cases you can't trust anything from anyone. There is a mod for reporting that allows you to see all the components of GARBAGE graph and then you can make your own rather sophisticated conclusions. LINK I think

[tungston 19]

One thing to consider is that waste energy plants cost a lot more that landfills. The price you get for selling waste disposal is closer to the cost of a landfill, that to burning the waste.