Palm Beach County is moving forward with a $1.5 billion trash incinerator.
Palm Beach County’s Solid Waste Authority voted to replace its current incinerator, which was opened in 1989. The new plant will operate in tandem with the newer mass-burn incinerator added in 2015.
Officials say the upgrade is essential to meet the needs of the county’s growing population and to extend the life of the county’s only landfill, which could reach capacity by 2057.
Environmental advocates have raised concerns about air emissions, but county board members argue that expanding landfills would be even harder to approve in Florida.
Elsewhere in South Florida, Broward and Miami-Dade counties are also debating locations to house their own new incinerators.
The new incinerator is expected to be built by 2034.
READ MORE: Miami-Dade gets back on track to build waste incinerator. But where?
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