The WTE contract award — expected within weeks — locks Miami-Dade County's primary MSW disposal pathway for 25–40 years; one action before that award preserves all optionality.
La adjudicación del contrato WTE — prevista en cuestión de semanas — bloquea el acceso primario a RSU del Condado de Miami-Dade por 25–40 años; una acción antes de esa adjudicación preserva toda la opcionalidad.
Miami-Dade County generates 4,110 TPD of municipal solid waste with no active thermal disposal facility — a direct consequence of the February 2023 RRF fire — and routes its entire primary waste stream to contracted private landfills at a verified all-in cost of $92.78 per ton. The Board of County Commissioners is expected to award a 25–40 year Waste-to-Energy Comprehensive Agreement in Q1–Q2 2026. Once executed, that contract locks the county's primary MSW disposal pathway, per-ton cost trajectory, and any competing feedstock access for its full term. The window to establish an alternative is the period between now and that award date. That window is open today. It will not remain open.
What Miami-Dade County pays today: The verified all-in contracted disposal cost is $92.78 per ton — $76.12 per ton gate rate plus $16.66 per ton transfer station fee, per the Miami-Dade DSWM Disposal Facility Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2025. The FPL/NextEra WTE proposal on the table prices a forward tipping fee of $105 per ton escalating 2.5% annually for 40 years. By 2035 under that contract, the rate reaches $134 per ton. By 2055, it exceeds $212 per ton. South Dade Landfill — the county's only owned Class I disposal facility — reaches capacity approximately 2029. There is no alternative cost ceiling in the current system.
What Carbotura offers: A 30-year Circular Offtake Agreement under which Carbotura designs, finances, builds, owns, and operates an Advanced Circular Manufacturing facility receiving county MSW at a TMC Fee of $88.00 per ton — $4.78 per ton below the verified current system cost, with zero county capital commitment. Beginning 13 months after the first TMC Fee payment, Carbotura pays the county a Circular Royalty at 120% of the Year 1 TMC Fee rate, escalating by one percentage point per year. At steady state, the Circular Royalty is designed to exceed the TMC Fee on a per-ton basis. The county's fiscal position turns net positive from Month 14 onward.
Timeline alignment: A Feasibility Study authorized in Q2 2026 (T0) delivers Phase Initial COD in Q2 2028 at 500 TPD — fully operational before South Dade Landfill reaches capacity. The first Circular Royalty payment follows in Q3 2029. Phase Medium (2,000 TPD) reaches full operations in Q4 2029. Phase Expanded (6,000 TPD, regional draw) reaches full operations in Q2 2031. Every phase is reachable on the Carbotura standard deployment schedule from a Q2 2026 T0. No phase requires anything other than the Feasibility Study to be authorized first.
Three fiscal periods govern this engagement. They must not be combined or averaged.
| ParameterParámetro | ValueValor | SourceFuente |
|---|---|---|
| Addressable feedstock — immediateMateriales disponibles — inmediato | 4,110 TPD · 1,500,150 TPY (MSW) | ESTIMATED |
| Total addressable (all streams)Total disponible (todos los flujos) | 7,225 TPD · 2,636,125 TPY | ESTIMATED |
| Current system cost (FWDC)Costo actual del sistema (CFRD) | $92.78/ton all-in contracted | VERIFIED — DSWM Oct 2025VERIFICADO — DSWM oct. 2025 |
| TMC Fee (Year 1)Tarifa TMC (Año 1) | $88.00/ton · escalates 2.5%/yr | ESTIMATED |
| Gross cost displacement (Year 1) | $4.78/ton · $872,350/yr (Phase Initial) | ESTIMATED |
| Circular Royalty — Year 1 | $0 · Pre-royalty period lasts 13 months from first delivery | Carbotura standard |
| Royalty payment lag | 13 months after each corresponding TMC Fee payment · rolling monthly | Carbotura standard |
| Net county position — Year 2+ | +$15.40/ton · +$2.81M/yr (Phase Initial 500 TPD) | ESTIMATED |
| Net county position — Year 30 | +$32.11/ton · +$5.86M/yr (Phase Initial) | ESTIMATED |
| County capital obligation | Zero — BOO structure, all capex Carbotura | Structural |
| Phase Initial CapEx (Carbotura) | $305,000,000 (500 TPD · 5 modules) | ESTIMATED |
| Hard deadline — WTE contract award | Expected Q1–Q2 2026 · BCC directed negotiations Dec 2025 | VERIFIED |
| Procurement authorization deadline | Before WTE contract execution — March 2026 | Derived from BCC timeline |
| Phase Initial CODCOD Fase Inicial | Q2 2028 (T0 + 24 months) | Carbotura standard scheduleCronograma estándar Carbotura |
| First Circular Royalty paymentPrimer pago de Regalía Circular | Q3 2029 (13 months after Phase Initial COD) | Carbotura standard |
| Direct employment — Phase Initial | ~175 FTE permanent jobs | ESTIMATED |
| Direct employment — Phase Expanded | ~1,750 FTE permanent jobs | ESTIMATED |
The specific instrument creating irreversibility is the long-term WTE Comprehensive Agreement currently being negotiated between Miami-Dade County and either FCC Environmental Services or the Florida Power & Light / NextEra Energy consortium — a contract with a 25–40 year term at $105/ton +2.5% annually, which will contractually direct the county's primary MSW stream to the new WTE facility for its full operational life.
If T0 slips past the WTE contract execution date, the IMMEDIATE-classified MSW stream (4,110 TPD) transitions from no contractual barrier to a 25–40 year contractual exclusion — Phase Initial loses its primary feedstock pathway, and the entire ACM engagement would require renegotiation of feedstock access from a position of no leverage.
The cost of acting now is a 90-day Feasibility Study — an analytical commitment with no capital exposure. The cost of waiting is the permanent foreclosure of a 30-year net-positive fiscal instrument on the county's largest recurring expenditure category, replaced by a $105/ton escalating disposal obligation with no royalty return mechanism and no cost ceiling.
Authorize the Community Feasibility Study before the WTE contract is executed.Autorizar el Estudio de Factibilidad Comunitaria antes de que se ejecute el contrato WTE.
To initiate the Community Feasibility Study or request additional analysis:Para iniciar el Estudio de Factibilidad Comunitaria o solicitar análisis adicional:
info[at]carbotura.com