Broward County’s Solid Waste Authority is one vote away from adopting an ambitious master plan that promises to overhaul the way we get rid of our trash and commit to the practice of recycling.
Of the 28 municipalities that are part of the Solid Waste Authority, 24 have voted to approve the compact. The remaining four have until Aug. 14 to sign on. For the master plan to pass, governments representing 80% of Broward’s population must join. According to Solid Waste Authority Chairman Mike Ryan, mayor of Sunrise, any one of the remaining cities would put the master plan over the top.
First up is Davie, which meets Wednesday night and has the item at the top of its Town Council agenda. After that, the measure gets taken up by Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point and Miramar.
Only the cities that voted yes will be included in the master plan’s implementation, Ryan said. Pembroke Pines, Hallandale Beach and Pompano Beach have not opted into the authority, though they will be welcomed if they reconsidered.
The SWA unanimously passed its master plan in April. The plan, which had been in development for years, calls for rethinking the way the county’s two million residents separate and dispose of their trash, along with what happens to it once it’s hauled away in garbage and recycling trucks.
The main objectives are to increase the amount of trash set aside for recycling and reduce the amount sent to landfills, which are running out of space and cannot serve as a long-term solution to the county’s disposal needs.
Broward generates five million tons of garbage a year. The master plan hopes to significantly reduce that amount, curbing the region’s needs for disappearing landfill space.
If it fails, each city will have to come up with its own plan, negotiating individually with Waste Management and other private companies for disposal of trash and recycling.
While Broward’s recycling rate has fallen from 60% in 2013 to 38% today, the master plan calls for it to grow to 75%.
Broward once had two waste-to-energy facilities, built at public expense and handed over to a private company, Waste Management.
Last year, the County Commission approved a plan to widen the base of the landfill at the Monarch Hill Renewable Energy Park and increase the height by 100 feet, to 325 feet, to help accommodate trash produced by Broward residents and businesses each year. It’s not nearly enough to accommodate the county’s long-term waste disposal needs.
Now Broward must reduce its waste significantly and increase its recycling proportionately or it will soon find it has no place to put its trash.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.