By John Dorschner
Miami-Dade’s problematic recycling is plodding to some sort of resolution – slowly. Very slowly.
A year ago, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava laid out an
ambitious plan for the county to develop its own plant for processing recycling
– a move recommended by a consultant to bring “long-term financial stability” to the recycling program. At
present, the county’s recycling is handled by WM, which trucks everything to a huge
facility in West Broward.
The WM contract runs out on March 31 – and it’s clear
that the county won’t be able to decide how to proceed by the deadline.
Too Much Junk in Recycling
The underlying problem is that residents often provide
… well, garbage-filled recycling. Kessler, the consultant, reported that almost
half – 48.8 percent -- of what residents put in their bins is “contaminated,”
meaning that it should be landfill-bound.
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| Local recycling includes a lot that's garbage, including the AC filter, plastic skeleton and propane tank shown here. |
Contamination costs a lot for recyclers like WM (formerly known as Waste Management). It means extra work in the processing plants to separate the crud from the good stuff – and less good stuff that can be resold.
What’s more, America’s recycling has become less
valuable in some ways, especially since China lost interest in our discards.
Those situations caused WM to say it couldn’t
continue to take Miami-Dade’s recycling under the current contract, which goes
back to 2008.
The mayor’s hope last year was to pair a new
recycling processing plant – known as a material recovery facility (MRF) -- with
a new waste-to-energy power plant that would burn garbage to make electricity. Kessler
recommended the facilities be placed in Doral at the site of an already
existing incinerator. Some residents yelled: Not in my backyard.
In the year since, virtually nothing has been heard
publicly about an MRF, but spokeswoman Natalia Jaramillo said on Monday that
“the mayor remains committed to her idea of developing a materials recovery
facility. In fact, the Department of Solid Waste Management is working on a
grant which, if awarded, will aid with the initial steps in putting out a
solicitation for either a design/build or a design/build/operate MRF. All
options will be explored and determined in the best interest of the county.”
Long-Term: Zero Waste?
In the meantime, the county needs a new recycling
contract to replace its expiring WM deal. For the past several months, it has
been inviting bidders to respond to a new request for proposals for a new
five-year recycling contract with an option for a five-year renewal. “This would
allow for time to develop a long-term strategy leading to zero waste and waste
to energy,” said Jaramillo in an email.
Possible bidders keep coming up with new questions
and the deadline keeps getting postponed. The latest deadline is Friday, Feb.
10, says county procurement officer Alejandro Garcia, but “very likely the
deadlines … will be extended since we have received questions; our staff is
preparing responses so an addendum can be issued,” said Jaramillo.
The specifics of awarding a county contract – who’s
bidding what – will be hidden behind a county-regulated “cone of silence,” but WM
and Waste Connections, which has a large Miami area recycling facility, are
possible competitors.
What Happens When Contract Ends?
Since the bids must be carefully reviewed before a contract is finalized and then approved by the county commission, the county and WM are now negotiating an extension of services after the current contract ends in March. That extension too would have to be approved by the commission.
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| Plastic baled: Residents often error in trying to recycle too much plastic, increasing contamination. |
Meanwhile,
the mayor remains committed to reducing waste and recycling.
“Given the significant challenges in the market for
recycled goods, and with increasing costs for fuel, labor and equipment, the
County is working on a long-term plan that will put the County on a path to
achieve zero waste by 2050,” says spokeswoman Jaramillo. “The Zero Waste
Strategy will emphasize waste reduction, composting, and other waste management
and diversion strategies that will reduce the collection and processing costs
in the long run.”
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