Miami-Dade's Solid Waste director has resigned but not without issuing a warning about the future of waste disposal in the county.
Director Michael Fernandez resigned Monday in a lengthy letter to Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in which he said the county may soon run out of space to properly dispose of trash.
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Fernandez said February's fire at the county's Resources Recovery Facility in Doral forced Miami-Dade to rely more on landfills in and out of the county to dispose of trash.
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The facility, which burned large amounts of waste collected by the county, has been out of operation since the fire broke out.
Fernandez said the county needs to partially reopen the facility and explore landfill expansions, otherwise future construction projects could be impacted by a law that requires Miami-Dade to have five years of waste disposal capacity in order to approve future housing projects.
"At this point, the County will have to issue a moratorium to stop all development in Miami-Dade County or initiate the plans that were suggested in the past, that would increase disposal capacity, such as landfill expansions," Fernandez wrote.
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Fernandez also said a fee increase of $12.50 per household per month may be necessary to close a $40 million defecit in the Solid Waste collections fund and build a surplus for the department.
In a statement Wednesday, a spokesperson for Levine Cava said Olga Espinosa-Anderson, the department's deputy director, was appointed interim director while they work to identify a new permanent director.
"This administration is keenly aware of the complex challenges our community faces around solid waste management and disposal, which were significantly exacerbated by the fire at the waste-to-energy plant earlier this year," the statement read. "Since taking office, Mayor Levine Cava has convened private and public sector partners to develop a much-needed comprehensive solid waste strategy that meets our growing community’s waste disposal needs now and in the future. This plan is meant to prioritize sustainability and zero waste initiatives that both reduce our carbon footprint and save taxpayers money in the long term."
