There’s an ongoing debate about where to build a trash incinerator in South Florida. The issue brings environmental impact and urban development to the forefront. NBC6’s Ana Cuervo breaks down the options being considered.
A development firm is proposing a 65-acre site for Miami-Dade County's new trash incinerator as part of a land swap deal.
For decades, the incinerator in Doral burned half of Miami-Dade's trash. But after a February 2023 fire, it’s been shut down, and the county has been under pressure to choose a new location to build a replacement.
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"While we are working on reducing the amount of waste and coming up with alternatives. we are also looking at the possibility of a rebuild of a waste-to-energy site," County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
Commissioners were already presented with a study that analyzed three possible sites: Doral, where the incinerator was located; a site near Medley; or Opa-Locka West, which is just south of Miramar and where city officials have expressed strong opposition.
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Now, there is a fourth proposal.
"We are absolutely considering environmental issues as well as individuals no matter what county they live in," Levine Cava said.
Terra development firm is pitching the site off Okeechobee Road by Northwest 137th Avenue, nearly two miles away from the closest neighborhood in Miramar, in exchange for developing county-owned land along Northwest 58th Street between 87th and 97th avenues.
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"We need to find a site… and we have found two sites already now that are far away from residents," said Miami-Dade Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez. "We put it away from residents so the smell wouldn’t be an inconvenience."
The mayor of Miramar says it is much more than an inconvenience and that the location is just not suitable
"Both sites present the same environmental profile, that is why it will meet the resistance not only from the city of Miramar, but from environmental organizations such as the Tropical Audubon Society and the Everglades Coalition," said Mayor Wayne Messam.
He promises to bring his arguments before the Miami-Dade Commission during the Sept. 17 meeting when the matter will be on the agenda. Miramar also has a legal team looking at the possibilities of lawsuits giants Miami-Dade County.
