After nearly two years of Miami Dade County considering locations for its new billion-dollar incinerator, the county is going back to the drawing board. NBC6’s Chris Hush reports
After nearly two years of Miami Dade County considering locations for its new billion-dollar incinerator, the county is going back to the drawing board.
Now, commissioners say a final vote is expected during a late February meeting.
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On Tuesday, a special meeting was held with commissioners to hear ideas, including Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s new recommendation to long haul trash out of Miami Dade via train.
“We need a decision to access insurance proceeds and continue to meet our disposal requirements,” Levine Cava said. “This truly is not an easy choice.”
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The decision to find an alternative to a new waste-to-energy campus came after mounting threats of legal battles and rising costs.
The old incinerator in Doral burned down in February 2023. Plans to rebuild on the existing site or at the Opa-locka West Airport site stalled in recent months with multiple delays on a vote and pushback from residents.
Last week, Miami-Dade signed a new contract with a company to ship out its solid waste by train to a landfill outside of the county. But other options like composting, a more robust recycling program and other “zero waste” initiatives are all on the table for February’s vote.
Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez was a strong supporter of a new incinerator. At Tuesday’s meeting, he told NBC6 he would like to work with Broward County on a waste solution.
“Can we have a regional solution to this issue as opposed to just the county,” said Commissioner Bermudez.
Miramar residents showed up at Tuesday’s special workshop, protesting outside the Government Center where the meeting was being held. Some residents still believe rebuilding the site at the existing Doral location is best. But Doral residents have also pushed back on that idea.
Environmentalists may get what they want if commissioners vote to use landfills and long haul the trash out of the county. Ken Russell, a Sierra Club representative is a strong supporter of “zero waste.”
“What do we do instead? We have responsible landfilling that only has what’s left after diverting everything to recycling, composting and other what’s called ‘zero waste’ philosophies,” Russell said.
The measures will go to the committee next week. The vote is expected to occur on Feb. 19.