Weston hears Broward Solid Waste Authority plan aiming to raise recycling, seeks 80% population approval by August

Weston City Manager Don Decker invited the Broward Solid Waste Authority’s executive director and consultants to present a countywide master plan for managing garbage and recycling.

At a March 16 presentation, SES Engineers project manager Daniel Deitch told the Weston City Commission that Broward County generates about "10,600,000,000 pounds of solid waste a year," roughly "20,000 pounds of waste every minute," and that the authority’s plan sets a multi‑decade horizon to stabilize processing and improve resource recovery.

The plan lays out scenarios the authority says could raise recycling to roughly 62 percent countywide — short of the state’s 75 percent recycling goal — by combining diversion programs, increased beneficial use of yard and construction/demolition debris, and a targeted approach to mandatory commercial recycling. Deitch said the authority will emphasize using existing processing capacity rather than building new, large-scale disposal facilities.

Why it matters: the authority covers 29 partners (county plus municipalities). If the governing board approves a facilities amendment this week, each ILA member will have up to 120 days to vote; the interlocal agreement requires affirmative approval equal to 80 percent of the county population for the authority and flow-control provisions to continue. Deitch said Aug. 14 is the target date by which member votes should be complete.

Costs and financing: Deitch outlined a phased finance approach that begins with population-based payments (what communities have already been paying), then a temporary tipping-fee surcharge (he cited a $2-per-tonne starting surcharge) for a brief period to provide operational strength for education, outreach and initial program rollout. Based on the authority’s waste-generation study, he said a typical single-family household generates about 1.3 tons of waste per year, "so it ends up being less than $3 per year per household for all the benefits of working together." The presentation noted modest planned surcharge increases in later fiscal years.

Concerns raised: commissioners and the vice mayor pressed presenters on the existing waste‑to‑energy/incinerator facility’s capacity and ownership. Vice Mayor Henry Mead noted the incinerator is near 30 years old and asked what would happen if its throughput declined. Deitch said the incinerator is privately owned by FCC, that the company performed a condition assessment before purchase, and that any capital changes would require private decisions and county review; he said the authority has not yet had detailed conversations with FCC about replacements or upgrades.

Several commissioners said public outreach has been inconsistent. Commissioner Fabio Andrade urged more local education and suggested a public competition among municipalities to raise recycling rates; Deitch said the authority’s education-and-outreach team is coordinating with member cities’ public information officers and with Broward County schools to broaden engagement.

Next steps: Deitch said the executive committee will present the master plan and facilities amendment to the governing board, which could advance the documents to member municipalities. If member communities approve the facilities amendment and the required population threshold is met, flow-control will activate and the authority can issue solicitations to leverage economies of scale for processing and disposal.

Quotes: Daniel Deitch said, "We are now closer to 30%" recycling and that "we collectively generate 10,600,000,000 pounds of solid waste a year." Vice Mayor Henry Mead summarized the time scale: "This is a 40 year plan. This is something that we want to take into the future." Commissioner Byron Jaffe said he supports continued involvement in the authority to pursue long-term solutions.

The presentation closed with an offer to return with more detail on the facilities amendment, procurement options and financial analysis; the commission did not take a formal vote on authority membership or the facilities amendment at the March 16 meeting.