Davie council hears Broward Solid Waste Authority master plan; consultants warn county recycling nearer 30% and deadline looms
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Summary
Consultants and Solid Waste Authority leaders told the Davie Town Council the county recycling rate has declined to roughly 30% and outlined a 40-year master plan and three-phase funding approach. Officials warned the authority could dissolve unless 80% of members by population adopt a facilities amendment by Aug. 14, 2026.
At the Davie Town Council meeting, consultants for the Broward Solid Waste Authority presented a 40-year master plan and a related facilities amendment that officials said must be adopted by 80% of member jurisdictions by population or the authority could cease to exist after Aug. 14, 2026.
Daniel Deitch, project manager for SES Engineers, told the council the county’s recycling rate has slipped from about 39% to “much closer to 30%,” and framed the authority’s work around a state target of 75% recycling. “I have bad news to report. It is no longer 39%. It's much closer to 30%,” Deitch said, calling behavior change, harmonized services and financial stability the plan’s guiding principles.
The presentation outlined five scenarios for reaching higher diversion rates and emphasized using existing private and public processing infrastructure rather than immediate, major capital projects. Deitch said the consultants recommended starting with neighborhood drop-off centers and relying on the market for many processing services while pursuing longer-term procurement strategies.
The plan also includes a three-phase funding approach. Phase 1 maintains population-based contributions for the coming year. Phase 2, which would only begin if the authority survives the pending approvals, shifts to a tonnage-based surcharge collected at receiving facilities; consultants illustrated an early surcharge at roughly $2 per ton. Phase 3 contemplates an assessment mechanism covering residential and nonresidential properties.
Mike Ryan, chair of the authority’s governing board, urged urgency and regional cooperation. “We have a crisis in Broward County of trash. We generate 5,000,000 tons,” he said, warning that without coordinated action the county will lose disposal capacity and face sharply higher long-term costs.
Council members pressed presenters on household impacts and program details. The authority’s interim executive director, Sam May, estimated that for Davie — using an average of 1.7 tons per residential unit — the tonnage surcharge would translate to about $3.40 per residential unit per year. “So as you can see, it’s not … a large amount,” May said, noting the surcharge covers administration and education and that pooled contracting and flow control aim to offset the added cost.
Members pressed for stronger composting and organics plans. Presenters said organics are a major portion of the waste stream and noted pilot projects in nearby cities; they also warned that organics disposal rules will change after 2027, making organics management urgent.
Presenters repeatedly stressed the schedule and voting thresholds: if the governing board advances both the master plan and facilities amendment at its meeting, documents will be sent to each interlocal agreement member and the clock for a 120-day adoption window will begin. The presenters said the facilities amendment contains rate caps (for example, a proposed $110/ton cap for recyclables) and any proposal to exceed those caps would require broad member approval.
Council members asked for workshops and community briefings; town staff said they will coordinate public outreach, briefings and a future workshop that will provide local cost estimates and options for restoring curbside recycling or establishing separate yard-waste pickup.
The council did not vote on the master plan or facilities amendment at the meeting; presenters invited council members and staff to an authority meeting this Friday where the executive committee is expected to recommend advancing the two documents to the governing board.
