Doral residents speak out against possible new trash facility

MIAMI – The debate over Doral and problems with its trash site is being dumped onto the ears of Miami-Dade County commissioners.

Residents packed into County Hall chambers on Wednesday afternoon during a policy committee meeting to try to stop key decision makers from building a brand new waste to energy plant.

The site would go right next door to the current facility that processes about 4,000 tons of solid waste each day.

“You guys can really make an impactful decision to us, residents of Doral,” Max Trujillo said.

People are concerned with the smells the plant seems to be giving off.

“Just smells a toilet, to be honest with you,” said one resident.

These concerns are why people want the new plant somewhere else, but the chair of the Miami-Dade County Commission, Jose ‘Pepe’ Diaz, disagrees.

“If any of you have a better plan, I want to hear it, but the plan just to kick it out and send it to somebody else’s neighborhood with no particular issue, that’s not the plan,” Diaz said.

Roughly 62 percent of the county’s waste is processed at that Doral site, where much of the waste is converted into energy in a non-toxic manner and the leftover ash is transferred to a landfill.

However, the county’s current lease agreement is with the energy facility Covanta, which is set to expire next year, so county leaders feel they can do better with their own waste to energy plant without emanating odors or toxins.

“To get new technology, you’ll need a replacement facility,” Department of Solid Waste Management Director Michael Fernandez said.

The commissioners agreed to move forward with a 60-day plan to work with a design professional and solidify where the new plant should go and what it would look like.