By Chelsea Rivera, Central Florida Jobs with Justice
A bill sponsored by Rep. Daryl Campbell and Sen. Victor Torres will help make Florida’s air and environment cleaner and safer for its residents.
Ensuring Clean Air for All Floridians (HB 1631/SB 1606) will hold companies that operate trash incinerators accountable to the established U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for air quality by requiring 24-hour air monitoring. Funds would be withheld to those locations that do not meet EPA standards. The bill would also move funding from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Environmental Protection, which has an office dedicated to monitoring air quality.
Incinerators produce major pollutants such as forever lead, heavy metals and toxic chemicals that are linked to a slew of health issues including cancer, neurological impairments, asthma and heart disease. In Florida, 70% of the state’s trash incinerators are located in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. This is consistent with a national trend of waste incinerators perpetuating environmental injustice. Those living closest to a facility are most at risk for adverse health impacts such as cancer and respiratory and reproductive health consequences, but because the pollutants are so small and travel easily, people hundreds of miles away are also at risk of exposures.
Florida has more trash incinerators than any other state in the U.S. As the most emission-intensive form of electricity production in the U.S., incinerators are incredibly detrimental to the environment and pose alarming threats to human health. Florida’s incinerators emit one-third of the state’s industrial air emissions of toxic mercury. There is no safe dose of mercury, and this highly toxic element can cause adverse effects during any stage of development.
The chief of staff for the EPA under Donald Trump’s administration recognized that incinerators were a step backward for our climate goals and a wasteful way to spend Florida’s tax dollars. One should also note that eight of Florida’s 10 incinerators are operated by Covanta, a waste company headquartered in New Jersey. Not only are our tax dollars being wasted by using inefficient and harmful waste “management” processes but they’re also being pocketed out of state. It’s a double blow to our residents.
In addition to the adverse effects that waste burning has on the environment and human health, the mere existence of an incinerator poses extreme danger to the surrounding communities. There were 390 waste and recycling facility fires across the U.S. and Canada in 2022, which is the highest recorded number on Fire Rover records.
There have been five big fire events in Florida in the past few years alone, despite reports showing that some of these fires could have been prevented had the facilities submitted their safety plans to the Department of Environmental Protection. Feb. 12 marked the one-year anniversary of the most recent fire, which blazed for three weeks at the Doral Incinerator outside of Miami, causing unsafe air for residents and the release of asbestos into the area.
Florida Rising, an organization that builds independent political power that centers historically marginalized communities, has been working endlessly for clean air for our state’s residents. Its report, co-authored with Earthjustice, extensively details the Doral fire and why incinerators are dangerous for our state, its residents and our environment. It also outlines more sustainable alternatives to managing waste.
The group’s Miami regional director, Sebastian Caicedo, remarked that “trash incineration is not clean, safe, or sustainable, contrary to what industry would want us to believe,” and that no community “should have to endure the nightmare that Doral residents went through.”
Floridians across the state, regardless of race, background or income, should have the freedom to breathe clean, healthy air. Our children have the right to play outside without their caretakers fearing adverse effects to their health and well-being. We need to join together in our communities and demand that our elected officials invest in our families’ futures by voting in favor of the Ensuring Clean Air for All Floridians Act (HB 1631/SB 1606).
For more information on Florida Rising’s work and how you can get involved in advocacy around this bill, click here. To stay abreast of developments this legislative session, follow Florida for All’s substack here.
This piece was written by Dr. Chelsea Rivera, policy organizer at Central Florida Jobs with Justice, in collaboration with the Florida Climate Equity Cohort, a group of 10 organizations across Florida working at the intersection of climate change and social, economic and racial justice.
If you are interested in submitting an opinion piece to The Invading Sea, email Editor Nathan Crabbe at ncrabbe@fau.edu. Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here.
