Published on June 18, 2026.
How will we manage our 5 million tons of trash in Broward? I have been proud to see the results of three years of hard work by our local leaders in the 28-city Solid Waste Authority of Broward County (SWABC) with a master plan that avoids the looming crisis of where to put the five million tons of trash we produce annually in Broward.
This dedicated group has overcome sharp differences to develop a market-based plan that will reduce toxic emissions and better serve the health and well-being of our communities for years to come. With our one landfill and incinerator working at capacity, there is no longer any “away” for our trash.
This comprehensive plan to reduce and recycle trash will prolong the life of our existing facilities and move us closer to the state mandatory 75 percent recycling rate from the current 38 percent.
Together, our cities can achieve economies of scale to recover the market value of items like organics, yard waste, and construction-demolition debris that we now just throw away. Construction-demolition material, for example, is over one-half of Broward’s waste flow, yet 80 percent of it be recovered and sold for market value.