County, municipal and private waste haulers can bring a variety of waste, including garbage, off-road and automobile tires, animal carcasses, trash and yard trash, construction and demolition debris and asbestos to the landfill.
Asbestos disposal requires authorization from the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (305-372-6925) and prior arrangement with the landfill (305-258-2830) 24 hours in advance. More information on asbestos.
This Class I (garbage) landfill is located in southeast Miami-Dade County, adjacent to the South District Wastewater Treatment Plant, Black Point Marina and Biscayne Bay. The South Dade Home Chemical Collection Center is co-located at the site.
The 300-acre landfill has 5 cells; 3 cells have already been filled and closed. The fourth cell is the active cell, and construction of the fifth cell is underway. Disposal capacity at the facility is anticipated to last through 2029.
At the on-site transfer operation, waste is unloaded on the tipping floor, a special area where waste is sorted. Some of this waste will be buried at the landfill, while most is typically loaded into 85-cubic yard transfer vehicles for transport to the Resources Recovery Facility, where waste is turned into energy.
Waste that will be buried at the landfill is taken to an active cell. It is deposited, and then compacted, so that it takes up the smallest space possible. At the end of each working day, the compacted waste is covered with soil or unders (tiny particles such as soil, rock, grit and broken glass that cannot be processed at the Resources Recovery Facility).
The landfill has been designed using the latest technology, with a synthetic liner system, leachate collection system and groundwater monitoring and treatment system. A sequencing batch reactor - industrial processing tanks for the treatment of wastewater - is used to treat leachate generated on site before it is pumped to the adjacent waste water treatment facility.
When a cell reaches capacity, it is closed following federal and state regulations. Closure activities include the installation of a final cover system that contains geosynthetic materials and soil layers, storm water drainage, landfill gas collection and associated piping.
A byproduct of decomposing waste is landfill gas, which is typically made up of about 50 percent methane gas, about 50 percent carbon dioxide and other trace substances. The landfill's closed cells include a series of wells to extract this gas. The gas is burned off at a flare located at the northern end of the landfill.
A gas-to-energy recovery facility is being constructed at the neighboring wastewater treatment facility. Landfill gas will be piped to the recovery facility where it will be combined with gas from the wastewater treatment facility. The combined gases will be converted into electricity to power operations at the wastewater treatment plant.
The landfill is also one of several sites in the disposal system that has been converted into a natural habitat and wetland area for native plants and varied wildlife. South Dade's 54 acres of restored wetlands are home to dozens of species of plants and wildlife, including the American alligator and bald eagle.
Key Facts
- The 50-acre Cell 4 is active.
- The landfill has a permitted height of 150 feet.
- Closed Cells 1 and 2 combined are about 60 acres, and Cell 3 is 50 acres.
- Cell 5 has 50 acres available for future disposal.
- Construction on the facility began in early 1978 and the first waste was landfilled in 1979.
- The original facility included a shredding plant that opened in 1981 and later closed when advances in landfill equipment improved landfill operations.
