MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Under a 10-year $65-million contract with the county, AtkinsRéalis, a Canadian company based in Quebec, will be helping Miami-Dade County to replace the waste facility that burned last year.
They want to build the biggest waste-to-energy plant in the country and released new conceptual renderings saying it would incinerate 4,000 tons of garbage daily, and its heat would power a turbine to generate electricity and alternative fuels.
The Miami-Dade Department of Solid Waste Management has been searching for solutions after a massive fire on Feb. 12, 2023, at the waste-to-energy plant near Northwest 97 Avenue and 74 Street.
Raising concerns about air pollution, two of the plant’s 11 buildings burned for days, and part of the Resources Recovery Facility had to be demolished.
Amid issues with air quality, residents in the area reported experiencing respiratory issues. Covanta, a New Jersey-based waste management company now known as Reworld, operated the facility for Miami-Dade.
After the fire, Michael Fernandez, Miami-Dade’s solid waste commissioner, resigned and the mayor first appointed Olga Espinosa-Anderson as a temporary replacement and Aneisha Daniel in April.
In a recent statement, Ian L. Edwards, AtkinsRéalis president, said the Canadian company is committed to an engineering net zero strategy to “help support a cleaner and more sustainable future” in Miami-Dade.
Steve Morriss, an executive for AtkinsRéali, described the county as a long-standing client with growing waste challenges and the plant as a way of efficiently repurposing waste.
The U.S. and Florida Departments of Environmental Protection regulate waste management companies.