Journey to Zero Waste

Zero Waste is the aspirational goal of diverting 90 percent or more of solid waste from disposal, and towards reuse or beneficial use. Many consider ‘zero waste’ as a concept to be fairly new; however, Miami-Dade County and the Department of Solid Waste Management have been working for years on initiatives that are critical to becoming a Zero Waste County.

Where the Journey Began

Miami-Dade County began diverting waste from its landfills and Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facility in 1990 when it launched its residential recycling program. As part of the residential recycling program, residents were required to recycle items in dedicated bins provided by the Department of Solid Waste Management (DSWM). A few years later in 1993, the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners began requiring commercial establishments throughout the County to recycle at least three waste streams. These two actions laid the foundation for waste diversion in Miami-Dade. In an effort to streamline the recycling process in the County, Miami-Dade DSWM transitioned to single-stream recycling in 2009.

As Miami-Dade has grown, so have our efforts to divert waste towards beneficial reuse. Miami-Dade County began accepting waste streams such as appliances (“white goods”), electronic waste, old tires, used oil, used chemicals, and yard waste to strengthen its waste diversion efforts. In 2014, the Solid Waste Advisory Committee built on the success of the County’s waste diversion efforts by recommending additional steps to be taken as part of the DSWM’s Solid Waste Master Plan. Recommendations included encouraging home composting of organic waste materials, providing more residential enforcement of solid waste rules, and expanding the types of recyclables accepted by the curbside recycling program. DSWM was inspired by these recommendations and took swift action by starting a Home Composting Program, taking enforcement action to discourage recycling contamination through an outreach and education campaign, and adding additional types of recyclables to the curbside recycling program.

Discussions about Zero Waste

Miami-Dade County has been working on waste diversion initiatives for decades, and in 2021 the County started working towards significant waste diversion with comprehensive zero waste goals.

In 2021, Miami-Dade County’s Climate Action Strategy set the goal of reducing landfill waste per person by 50 percent by 2030. In 2022, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava proposed that Miami-Dade County become a Zero Waste County and solicited feedback from the community.

In 2023, DSWM’s Bond Consultant drafted a report detailing some measures that the County and Department would need to incorporate to begin working towards becoming a Zero Waste County. In 2024, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was prepared and advertised to hire a consultant to develop a Zero Waste Master Plan in collaboration with Miami-Dade County. The Zero Waste Master Plan, in coordination with the County and key stakeholders, is expected to be completed in 2026.

Zero Waste hierarchies build on the old waste management hierarchy of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ by incorporating other measures such as ‘Refuse’, ‘Redesign’, and ‘Reimagine’ into the waste hierarchy. Miami-Dade County will incorporate these zero-waste measures into the existing infrastructure that’s been developed over several decades to accomplish its goal of becoming a Zero Waste County.

Get Involved

Transitioning Miami-Dade County to a Zero Waste County will require community participation and input. This input begins now as we work on developing the County's Zero Waste Master Plan.

Zero Waste Timeline

2021
Set Goal of reducing per capita landfill waste by 50 percent by 2030

2022
Administration sets goal of Miami-Dade becoming a 'Zero Waste' County

2023
Report outlines some steps County can take towards Zero Waste August

2024
Zero Waste RFP advertised

2026 Anticipated publication of Zero Waste Master Plan

Frequently Asked Questions

Resources