MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Miami-Dade County commissioners voted Wednesday afternoon to move forward with building a new waste-to-energy incinerator, but the decision has reignited heated debate over where the controversial facility should be located.
The vote came just before 3 p.m., with commissioners signaling their support for moving ahead with plans to build a new incinerator—though not yet settling on a final site.
The discussion quickly shifted to the contentious issue of where to place it, with many commissioners, environmentalists, and residents voicing opposition to proposals in their own communities.
“I am tired of showing up every couple of months to talk against incineration,” another resident said, while one speaker warned, “If we move forward with this new incinerator, we’ll be killing our residents.”
Noon report:
The renewed discussion comes more than a year after a massive fire destroyed the county’s existing incinerator facility in Doral in 2023, forcing Miami-Dade to haul its trash out of the region.
Since then, county officials have explored several possible replacement sites, including Medley, the former Opa-locka West Airport near the Everglades and Miramar border, and the existing Doral location — opposed by the Trump Organization due to its proximity to Trump National Doral Miami.
In a June memo, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava reiterated her administration’s earlier recommendation from a January 2025 report, stating:
“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,” she said. “It is critical that any options we pursue do not create an undue burden to our ratepayers, particularly at a time of mounting pressures on the County’s resources.”
At Wednesday’s meeting, District 13 Commissioner Rene Garcia is also expected to raise questions about an unsolicited land swap proposal initially brought forward by Terra Group, even though the developer says it is no longer pursuing the deal.
In a statement provided to Local 10 News, a spokesperson for Terra said:
“We have no knowledge of why this proposal (is) being reintroduced on the Commission Agenda. We have not had any conversations with Miami-Dade Solid Waste or the Mayor’s office since late last year. Likewise, our original land swap proposal has never been recommended by the Mayor or Commission. As such, our partnership has considered this proposal something in which the County was no longer interested. We have since foregone our partnership and are not prepared to move forward with the original land swap proposal at this time.”
“(If) talks to the deal is dead or not, I think it’s important for if that site is picked by this county commission, I’m sure a deal can be reached,” said Garcia.
Many residents who live near the proposed sites say they fear environmental and quality-of-life impacts.
This is a developing story and will be updated following the commission’s discussion.
