EL PASO – A new drug incinerator purchased by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office is expected to save taxpayers thousands of dollars.

The Sheriff's Office showed off the incinerator in far East El Paso Wednesday. It can burn though as much as 500 pounds of marijuana an hour at temperatures as high as 1,600 degrees.

Sheriff Richard Wiles said the new incinerator will save the county time and money.

Before, the county was paying a facility in Tuscon, Arizona, to incinerate drugs seized as evidence. It cost 80 cents per pound and cost taxpayers about $60,000 a year. The Sheriff's Office also had to pay for transportation and security costs.

But not anymore.

"We save on overtime, the transportation of the officers, and hotel rooms when they used to have to go to Tucson,” said Wiles. “This is going to be a tremendous asset to our community."

The incinerator cost $160,000 dollars and was purchased with confiscated drug money.