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Miami-Dade commissioners to talk trash after mayor scraps incinerator plan

Miami-Dade Commission set to discuss future of waste management
Miami-Dade Commission set to discuss future of waste management 02:15

MIAMI -  Miami-Dade commissioners will discuss the future of solid waste management during a meeting on Tuesday.

It comes after Mayor Daniella Levine Cava issued a memo recommending that plans to build a new incinerator in the county be scrapped in favor of continuing long-hauling waste.

For two years, the county had been considering where to put a new incinerator and they narrowed it down to several locations; the former Opa-locka West Airport, a tree farm outside of Hialeah Gardens, a site in Medley and the site where the original incinerator burned down in Doral in 2023.

In a memo issued over the weekend, Levine Cava stated, "After careful consideration and much analysis, I am recommending that we continue to long haul waste via truck and rail using our contracted capacity while we continue exploring options to build a landfill outside of Miami-Dade county."

Throughout the memo, Cava said that she and the county commissioners have learned there isn't an "easy solution" when it comes to waste management. As much as they recognize the urgency of managing the loss of the Doral incinerator, Cava said that "any option we pursue does not recreate an undue burden to our ratepayers."  

The Opa-locka West Airport site, which is near the Broward County line, drew opposition from the city of Miramar. Mayor Wayne Messam opposed the site because it was about two miles away from his city. Messam applauded Levine Cava's recommendation to scrap the incinerator plan.

"In the short term, we're breathing a sigh of relief. However, the city of Miramar, we continue to look at long-term solutions to protect sensitive sites like Airport West that are so close to the proximity of Everglades restoration projects and the billions of dollars that have been invested."

Miramar residents plan to show up at Tuesday's meeting in case the airport site is considered again. The city is providing transportation, t-shirts, and meals for residents who attend the workshop.

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