Anti-Incinerator Campaign
The Don’t Incinerate, Innovate Campaign is a grassroots environmental justice campaign to prevent the creation of a new waste incinerator anywhere in Miami-Dade County, and advocate instead for the adoption of “zero waste” practices to combat our waste crisis. The Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA) defines zero waste as: “The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.”
Waste incineration is a harmful waste management method and a false solution to a very real waste problem in Miami-Dade. Incinerators, which have been historically placed in lower income black, brown, and Hispanic communities, are known to release harmful chemicals and pollutants into the surrounding air, water, and food supply, including:
- Air pollutants (particulate matter, which cause lung and heart diseases)
- Heavy metals (lead and mercury, which cause neurological diseases)
- Toxic chemicals (PFAS and dioxins, which cause cancer and other health problems)
Incineration in Miami-Dade began in 1925, when the City of Miami operated a waste incinerator known as “Old Smokey” in West Coconut Grove, a predominantly black neighborhood. Before it was shut down as a public nuisance by court order in 1970, it released tons of toxic ash from its furnace into nearby schools, parks, and residences. The impact left behind by 45 years of incineration are still felt to this day by the residents of West Grove.
A new incinerator began operation in 1982 in Doral, a majority Hispanic community, until eventually burning down in February of 2023 due to a fire on the conveyor belt, leading to the release of countless toxins into the surrounding area. A year before the fire, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection sent a warning letter to the Miami-Dade Department of Solid Waste Management following an inspection that found a “failure to submit quarterly/annual reports that include a fire inspection survey report for fire safety,” “failure to have an updated Emergency Preparedness Manual… in the event of a fire,” and “failure to have a clear fire lane on-site.”
While incineration has been defined as a “renewable energy,” in states like Florida, the reality is that it delays a much needed and urgent transition to less carbon-intensive power generation infrastructures (such as wind and solar renewable energy) by 20 to 30 years, while also undermining the move to lower-carbon options and zero waste solutions for waste management.
Municipalities throughout the world are making the move towards zero waste, including Miami-Dade County, which “set its sights” on a Zero Waste Master Plan in 2023. However, by choosing to move forward with a waste incinerator, the county would be actively disincentivized from achieving their zero waste goals. “Put or Pay” is a clause commonly found in waste incinerator contracts that would require the local municipality to pay the difference for not sending a minimum tonnage of trash to the incinerator, actively disincentivizing zero waste goals set by the county. The most efficient and effective solutions involve rethinking, reducing, and/or reusing waste solutions that stop waste at the source.
For more information, contact Marcelo Balladares, Sierra Club Florida Everglades Organizing Representative.