Two competing waste‑management plans pitched to South Miami: a waste‑to‑hydrocarbon conversion and a conventional rail‑served transfer station

Two competing approaches to handling South Miami’s municipal solid waste were presented to the City Commission on July 21: a technology‑driven conversion model put forward by Softel/InsofTel and a more conventional rail‑served transfer‑station proposal from Unified Disposal Partners (UDP).

Christian Morano, identified in the record as CEO of Softel, described a waste‑value platform that converts municipal waste into a "renewable solid hydrocarbon" (RSH) that he said can be sold to energy and industrial buyers. Morano gave several headline figures: an estimated capital cost of about $55,000,000 (he contrasted that with roughly $400,000,000 for a conventional waste‑to‑energy plant) and potential annual revenues of up to $25,000,000. He told the Commission that the city could eliminate roughly $800,000 in its annual disposal costs and — depending on throughput — could earn an estimated $1.6 million to $7.4 million a year from gate‑fee shares and commercialization of the RSH product.

Commissioners pressed Morano on three recurring concerns: how the project would be financed, whether there are operational plants that use the same technology and where the off‑takers would be found. Morano said private equity and strategic industrial partners would provide initial capital and that technology partners (TRI and a Netherlands firm named in the record) would provide engineering and EPC support. A South Miami resident in the audience, Sasha Picktay, added that initial financing would typically come from private industrial partners that want exposure to new fuels.

Darren Rizzo, CEO of Unified Disposal Partners (UDP), described an existing operating company with transfer stations and a rail‑served landfill that already moves material by CSX and Norfolk Southern. Rizzo proposed a 20‑year lease with extensions and said UDP’s model would require no public capital; he estimated a lease and royalty structure that could generate roughly $80 million over the life of the lease and that the site could reach 750–1,250 tons per day throughput with rail outbound service to reduce truck traffic.

Several commissioners said both approaches have merit but asked staff to perform due diligence. They requested the following from each proposer: a complete capital‑stack plan (debt/equity structure), proof of operating facilities or a site visit to existing plants, off‑taker letters or put agreements guaranteeing product sales, a market analysis for the RSH product, a phased throughput and revenue model, and a permitting and timeline estimate. The Commission directed staff to assemble those materials, distribute them to commissioners and return with analysis that compares the options’ fiscal and operational impacts.

Why it matters: South Miami currently ships municipal waste off‑site; choosing a local processing option could change long‑term disposal costs, traffic patterns and land use on a rail‑served industrial site. The proposals differ sharply on capital needs, technological risk and the degree of private vs. public control.

Next steps: Staff will collect detailed business plans, term sheets and market/off‑taker documentation from each proposer and report back to the Commission for a policy decision.