Monarch Hill Renewal Energy Park in unincorporated Broward County. {Google Maps}
By David Volz
The Monarch Hill landfill is almost full and may be unable to accept more post-recycled construction and demolition debris. If no additional space is available, this waste must be transported out of Broward County.
Waste Management (WM) requests a Land Use Plan amendment for a 24-acre area at 2600 Wiles Road in unincorporated Broward County. The site used to house a waste-to-energy plant, specifically the Wheelabrator North building but is currently undergoing demolition. This location is part of the 500-acre Monarch Hill Renewal Energy Park.
The Broward County Commission will hear the land use plan amendment on its May 21, 2024, agenda.
The Monarch Hill landfill has about six years of capacity remaining, and a major hurricane could use up to a year’s worth of capacity in one storm, according to Dawn McCormick, director of communications for WM.
If the landfill is not approved to use its total horizontal and vertical capacity, it must begin diverting post-recycled construction and demolition debris and bulk waste to the Okeechobee landfill.
According to McCormick, this would mean additional transportation costs passed on to county, municipal, and commercial customers.
The location is Monarch Hill Renewal Energy Park in unincorporated Broward County. {Broward County}
Moving this waste would pose a significant burden on the environment. According to McCormick, WM estimates it would require about 7,500 tractor truckloads a month or 90,000 loads annually, traveling 196-mile round trips to dispose of material, using 3.5 million gallons of diesel fuel, and generating 39,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Got News in Coconut Creek? Send it Here. Keep reading NW Broward County’s #1 News Sites: Parkland Talk, Coconut Creek Talk, Coral Springs Talk, Margate Talk, and Tamarac Talk.