Dive Brief:
- Members of the solid waste authority board in Palm Beach County, Florida, unanimously approved on Wednesday a $1.5 billion plan to build a new incineration facility by 2034. The county already has an additional mass burn combustion facility that opened in 2015, but officials say they need to replace a neighboring refuse-derived fuel plant that opened in 1989.
- The county is looking to add disposal capacity as it contends with a growing population. Palm Beach County owns the North County Landfill, where it has historically sent a combination of incinerator ash, C&D waste and other types of waste. That facility is currently projected to reach capacity in 2057.
- Some environmental advocates opposed the construction of a new incinerator over air emission concerns, but board members said this was the best option available to them given the challenges of building new landfill capacity in the state.
Dive Insight:
Palm Beach County is one of several in Florida looking into new incineration capacity.
Miami-Dade County has spent more than three years debating the possibility of a new facility, and neighboring Broward County has considered a replacement facility of its own. Pasco County is currently building its own thermomechanical treatment facility — Reworld and the county celebrated a construction milestone for the project last month.
Elsewhere, Pinellas County also approved on Wednesday a $320.9 million contract with FCC Environmental Services to continue operating its incinerator for the next 10 years, The St. Pete Catalyst reported. The company is taking over operations from Reworld at the site…