The battle over where to build Miami-Dade County’s new trash incinerator is heating up after a fourth proposal has been put on the table.
On Tuesday, County Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez of the 12th district presented the new site option to a committee. The new proposal site is near Okeechobee Road and Northwest 137th Avenue in Miami-Dade.
Bermudez indicated that it is roughly 1.5 miles farther away from the nearest resident in Miramar compared to the other site favorite, the old Opa-Locka West Airport.
MIAMI-DADE TRASH INCINERATOR
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But outspoken Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam disapproves of the newest proposal, too.
“Both sites share the same environmental profile, they pose the same exact risk,” said Messam.
The City of Miramar has threatened to sue Miami-Dade County if they build the new incinerator at either location.
The other two site proposals include a site in Medley or Doral, where it would be rebuilt on the same plot where it burned to the ground in February 2023.
Both locations have faced opposition and support.
“It poses the same harmful impacts on the everglades, the air we breathe, and the water we drink,” said Miramar resident Janice McIntosh.
Former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell, who is now a lobbyist for the Sierra Club Miami, wants the entire waste-to-energy idea to be scrapped.
“Composting, for example, that doesn’t even exist here, and it can really get rid of our organic waste in a better way,” said Russell. “[Miami-Dade County] is part of a zero-waste philosophy they’re committed to. Burning garbage is not part of that philosophy."
But Doral Mayor Christi Fraga pushed back on that idea, saying time is running out.
“We need to find somewhere because otherwise we will run out of capacity. This is a real issue,” said Fraga. “I believe that real solutions need to be given and the zero-waste conversation has just taken too long."
The measure is expected to be on next Tuesday’s commission meeting agenda as a discussion item.
