The Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners held a meeting yesterday to discuss construction of a new county waste incinerator, as well as other waste management strategies.
South Florida communities protested plans to build a new waste-to-energy facility and pushed for alternative options, such as landfilling and garbage reduction.
“A lot of these folks are suffering from huge health issues,” said Alberto Salvi, who lives in Pembroke Pines. “If you put an incinerator in our backyard, it would increase our health risk.”
The controversy started back in early 2023 when the county’s original incinerator burned down in Doral due to an electrical or mechanical fire.
Since then, four sites were proposed for the construction of a new incinerator including the current Doral location, a quarry site in Medley, a tree farm owned by developer David Martin, and the former Airport West site in Opa-locka.
After multiple meetings and delays, the final vote is set to be held Feb. 19.
