Residents, Sierra Club urge Palm Beach County to explore alternatives before new incinerator bond spending

During matters by the public, residents and environmental groups urged county leaders to delay major capital commitments on a proposed new incinerator and instead study alternatives to reduce waste and avoid long‑term debt for ratepayers.

Linda Smith of the Sierra Club’s Loxahatchee Group asked the county to advertise an RFP for waste‑reduction programs that could cut waste by 50% within nine years at lower cost than the proposed $1.5 billion incinerator, and she requested a public hearing or workshop to examine alternatives before spending bond proceeds or entering long‑term "put or pay" contracts with an incinerator operator. Drew Martin (Sierra Club) and Gail Ladd repeated those concerns and proposed pay‑as‑you‑throw, composting, and expanded recycling as measures that would both reduce tonnage and avoid saddling future generations with bond debt.

Speakers cited estimates for bond impacts to household solid‑waste bills and asked the board to consider phased diversion programs and pilot projects. Staff did not present a direct fiscal rebuttal to the $1.5 billion figure during the public comment period; commissioners acknowledged the concerns and noted the authority’s broader diversion targets and the pending procurement work on biomass processing and facility planning.

The public comments were heard as part of the SWA meeting’s consent/public‑comment portion; commissioners signaled willingness to consider alternatives but did not adopt immediate policy changes during this session.