A proposed fee increase could raise the trash bills for Miami-Dade residents, in part to offset the climbing costs of recycling. NBC6’s Yaima Crespo reports
Residents of Miami-Dade County may soon see an increase in their trash collection fees.
The proposed increase is due, in part, to climbing operational, staffing, and global recycling costs exacerbated by the long-term impact of the pandemic.
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The proposed fee increase, which would add $36 to the current annual fee of $509, aims to keep the recycling program and other waste services operational for over 366,176 households.
But not everyone is on board.
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"I'm not going to be voting in favor of any sort of increases for our residents," said Miami-Dade Commissioner Kevin M. Cabrera (District 6).
Cabrera argues the community is already grappling with several challenges.
"They're struggling with inflation. They're struggling with ever-increasing property taxes, property insurance, groceries, gas," Cabrera said.
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Cabrera suggests temporarily halting the existing recycling program, calling it ineffective.
“Let's figure out ways to make it better," he said.
NBC6 spoke with Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
"Recycling is a very, very important part of how we deal with our waste stream," the mayor said.
She warns that stopping the recycling program would worsen existing conditions.
"We have limited capacity to put things in our landfill. Right now, we don't have a waste-to-energy plant, which was taking half of our garbage. If we do not recycle, that's just more going to the landfill and filling them up quicker," the mayor said.
Earlier this year, a fire at a waste-to-energy plant in Doral left the county scrambling to find alternative waste disposal solutions.
Levine Cava proposes building a large waste-to-energy facility near the Everglades, as a way to address the situation.
Noel Cleland, chair of the Sierra Club Miami Group, supports the Mayor's initiatives, which also aims to develop a zero-waste master plan.
"I think her whole team is showing a lot of foresight initiative to try to be able to have not a one-size-fits-all, but let's do a little bit of everything to keep this from becoming a crisis," Cleland said.
Cabrera would like to take a step further and stop traditional recycling.
"I do think that we need to build a new waste-to-energy facility that is ultimately the best way to recycle. Why? Because in a waste-to-energy facility, you're getting waste, you're creating energy, which is generating funds for taxpayers," Cabrera stated.
Davie and Pembroke Pines already use this approach, sending waste and recyclables to a waste-to-energy facility. Under Florida law, this process counts as renewable energy.
Levine Cava and Cabrera agree that improving public education on recycling could benefit the program but it will require more funding.
According to the Miami-Dade Department of Solid Waste Management, the rate of contamination — wrong items placed in the recycling bin — has decreased to 40%, but according to data from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the county's recycling rate is still lower than other parts of the state.
