Miami-Dade County Commission to vote on future of waste management

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A vote on the future of waste management for Miami-Dade County is expected to happen Monday morning.

The meeting comes as county landfills are almost up to capacity.

In a meeting with commissioners last month, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava recommended to eliminate the incinerator option as a possible short-term solution.

The mayor said building a new waste facility with modern standards would be safe but pricey.

“For that reason, I’m recommending that we continue to long haul waste via truck and rail,” she said.

“The cost, I think now based on her memo, is something that makes a lot of sense. Why spend $1.7 billion on something that’ll take 10 1/2 years,” Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez said.

Other options include building an out-of-county landfill or building a waste-to-energy facility.

Why did this all start?

It goes back to 2023 as the county was in search for a replacement of a Doral incinerator that burned down.

The initial idea was to build the incinerator again in Doral, but that plan was eventually dropped following a call from Eric Trump, saying his family was against it being near Trump National Doral.

Right now, trash in the county is being hauled via truck and train by a contractor outside of the county.