Miami Beach condo owners could be required to add composting bins within four years under a sweeping countywide waste plan that Mayor Daniella Levine Cava unveiled Friday, July 31.
The Zero Waste Master Plan is a 13-year roadmap to divert 90% of Miami-Dade County's waste from landfills by 2040. The county currently generates more than 5 million tons of waste a year, and its landfill could reach capacity within five years, according to Aneisha Daniel, director of the county's Department of Solid Waste Management.
"There is value in trash," Levine Cava said at the July 31 press conference at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel.
The urgency is real. Since the county's waste-to-energy incinerator burned down in 2023, Miami-Dade has been spending an estimated $65 million this fiscal year shipping garbage by rail to other parts of Florida, WLRN reported.
What it means for Miami Beach
Among the plan's 31 strategies is a proposed Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance that would require multifamily buildings, including condominiums, to add composting bins sized to the number of units. Haulers, including condos' private contractors, would have to report collection tonnage to the county or municipality. Standardized recycling signage and cart colors would also be mandated.
A separate "Save-As-You-Throw" pricing model would charge single-family homeowners based on garbage cart size. However, that incentive is written specifically for curbside cart service and would not apply to condominiums, which negotiate their own dumpster or compactor service independently. Given Miami Beach's large condo population, most island residents would not be directly affected by that pricing change unless a parallel mechanism is developed for multifamily buildings.
Miami Beach's existing single-use plastics ordinances are cited in the plan's inventory of municipal zero waste actions already underway.
The numbers
In 2024, the plan's baseline year, only 36% of the county's waste was diverted from disposal. Full implementation of all 31 strategies could raise that to 77%, according to the Islander News. The county projects that would cut 1.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, equivalent to removing more than 405,000 gas-powered cars from the road for a year.
Each Miami-Dade resident produces an average of six pounds of garbage per day. A 2024 waste composition review found single-family homes mostly discard food waste (21%), paper (20%) and plastic (15%), the Miami Herald reported.
What comes next
The 31 strategies are grouped into four categories: rethink and redesign, reduce and reuse, recycling and composting, and material processing infrastructure. Implementation will roll out in three phases: short-term (one to four years), medium-term (five to nine years) and long-term (10 to 13 years). The county plans to provide municipalities with model ordinance language and technical support.
The plan was developed with consulting firm WSP through public workshops, surveys and meetings with municipalities and industry groups. The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau partnered on the rollout, committing to help the hospitality industry reduce waste and expand food recovery.
Levine Cava confirmed there is currently no path forward on a new incinerator. "We don't have a site," she said.
No public comment period or formal adoption vote has been announced for the plan. Residents and businesses can follow developments at miamidade.gov/solidwaste.
