Solid Waste Authority urges Tamarac to review master plan and forthcoming facilities agreement

Mayor Steve Brettrous (Town of Southwest Ranches) and Solid Waste Authority representatives briefed the Tamarac commission on a multi‑municipality master plan to address county solid‑waste management and increase recycling rates.

The presentation said Broward’s current recycling rate was roughly 39% (2023 baseline) and that the master‑plan option selected—one without incineration—could raise rates into the low‑60s over the planning horizon by leveraging existing county‑area facilities, harmonizing services and pursuing new technologies such as biochar for certain waste streams. The presenters stressed economies of scale across municipalities and noted that the plan has a hard deadline tied to the ILA (interlocal agreement) that expires in August 2026 unless the parties finalize facilities agreements.

SWA said two items would come to the commission in the near term: (1) a request to extend the ILA funding for a final year to complete the facilities agreement (the ILA request referenced in the meeting packet was $85,000 and is intended to sustain the planning phase), and (2) the facilities agreement itself, expected to be available in draft within about 10 days and describing municipal cost/share options and tipping‑fee models. The presenter asked the commission to review the master plan and the facilities agreement and place the facilities agreement on a future agenda for consideration, ideally within about 60 days.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about cost timing and whether the $85,000 referenced in the packet was part of the facilities agreement (presenter clarified it was part of the current ILA sustaining the planning phase, not the future facilities agreement). Commissioners expressed interest in reviewing the draft facilities agreement before taking a commitment to join any countywide implementation.