Miami-Dade County is suing Reworld Dade, the operator of its Doral trash incinerator, and parent company Reworld Holding Corp. for more than $750 million.
The county claims that the operator allowed fire-protection systems to decay and ignored warnings, and left sprinkler valves closed before a fire destroyed the plant in February 2023.
The complaint, which was filed on Sept. 28, has nine counts against the companies, including breach of contract, gross negligence, fraud in the inducement, and False Claims Ordinance violations.
Here's what to know
The 67-page complaint alleges employees had closed sprinkler-supply valves around the conveyor where the fire started, despite there being no repair work that required cutting off the water, Florida Politics reported. County lawyers say one of the sprinkler systems tied to the area was left shut for roughly a year.
The filing also reconstructs the afternoon of the fire. According to the lawsuit, a conveyor stopped around 1:33 p.m. without triggering its motion alarm; flames were seen by about 2:10 p.m. and spread over the conveyor minutes later. Miami-Dade says neither the upper nor lower sprinkler system came on, and a 911 call was not made until about 2:16 p.m.
Before the blaze, inspectors had already flagged problems, the county says. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue issued six violation notices between October 2019 and September 2022, and an inspection conducted for the plant's insurers about five weeks before the fire reportedly warned that impaired protection systems near combustible material could let flames spread rapidly.
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More background
Miami-Dade says the damage wiped out much of a facility that processed about 3,150 tons of waste each day. While the county puts the plant's replacement value above $500 million, it says its losses also include revenue from electricity it can no longer sell, the expense of demolition and cleanup, environmental monitoring and the cost of diverting trash to other sites.
Miami-Dade says an estimate puts the cost of a replacement facility at $3 billion. The county claims Reworld played down how serious the safety problems were while it pursued a new operating agreement in October 2022 and sought payment for its work.
Reworld has previously disputed that narrative. In a November 2025 letter answering an earlier county demand, the company said Miami-Dade did not pay for needed upgrades at the aging plant, failed to fully insure it, and later decided not to repair it after the fire.
What's being done?
The lawsuit asks for damages from both the operator and its parent company, and the county wants the case tried before a jury.
Miami-Dade is still looking for land for a replacement facility.
"Reworld was responsible for operating and maintaining it, and the allegations in this lawsuit point to serious failures to meet those responsibilities," Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said, according to Florida Politics. "We are taking this action to recover the damages our County has suffered and protect our taxpayers."
Where can I learn more?
Similar disputes have surfaced around other waste facilities, pollution concerns, and oversight lapses. They include conflicts involving Florida incinerators, landfill emissions, toxic dumping, sewage monitoring, and e-waste plants.
• In Miami-Dade, officials say the nation's largest trash incinerator creates disproportionate health burdens.
• Officials accused a major landfill company of harmful methane emissions that violated operating rules.
• In Napa Valley, landfill workers alleged improper disposal of toxic waste amounted to deliberate pollution.
• U.K. officials found self-monitoring practices by water companies failed to catch unacceptable sewage pollution.
• In India, investigators exposed government-approved e-waste plants linked to ghost recycling operations.
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