MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Florida – The city of Miami has finally installed the first group of high-tech storm intake screens to reduce all street waste that pollutes Biscayne Bay.
Miami is not the only city in South Florida that is stepping up to try to combat the growing garbage program with this new technology.
Videos taken last month by volunteers clearing a beach show what the coast of Biscayne Bay looks like every time the region experiences heavy rain.
Kilos and kilos of street rubbish, rubbish people throw on the street wherever they are in Miami-Dade County, are swept into storm drains that flow into canals that flow into the dying bay.
Emilio Lopez is at the forefront of South Florida’s war on garbage.
Local 10 News spoke to him last year when his company SOP Technologies measured the inlets in southwest Miami to install high-tech screens designed to capture all street waste before it enters the surface water system.
“The rubbish should never get to the street in the first place, and I think it’s important to educate the public as much as we can,” Lopez said. “In the city of Miami, we started with District Two, which is more than the Downtown, Overtown area, with 195 (screens) installed. They are going to be watched and monitored, just like the first ones for the pilot project.”
The city of Miami has ordered thousands of screens to help deal with the huge amount of street rubbish.
The first batch was finally installed in May.
“We see some good things and bad things,” Lopez said. “We see a pile of rubbish in front of some of them, which is good because they do their job. And then of course it’s a bad thing that we see rubbish.”
This is because people continue to litter, so cities in South Florida now have to spend tens of thousands of dollars because some people still have not learned to use a trash can.
«The next step is really how to address the root of the problem where you have a hotspot of garbage? And there are things that can take a little longer to grasp, Lopez said.
QR codes on plaques strategically placed on the sidewalk above each screen help residents learn about South Florida’s pollution problem, and engage them to be part of the solution by reporting when screens become cluttered with trash.
“A picture says 1,000 words,” Lopez said. “They can easily upload a picture of what they see, and then it informs the city about what people are seeing in a particular area.”
It is important that the city removes the clutter as soon as possible to prevent street flooding, but the new screens are designed for just that purpose.
“What we designed that is unique … is the upward flow of water through the screen,” Lopez said. “So instead of just having a flat piece of metal that has circles in it that actually clog very quickly, this does not clog as quickly. It allows the city to have time to get past and they sweep the street, or in some cases, if they have to clean up a little more, they do. “
The screens also have a proven track record. Key West, South Miami and Aventura use them all, and Local 10 News was there when Hallandale Beach installed them in August last year.
“They work. I could not have been more excited about them,” said Charles Casimir, assistant director of Hallandale Beach’s Department of Public Works. “Our waterways have reduced the amount of rubbish and leaves and debris. Now it has fallen enormously. “
The inhabitants also notice the difference.
“They’re good, people,” said Pini Dagan, who lives in Hallandale Beach. “They keep the canal clean.”
Dagan pointed to a group of ducks, which had not been seen before the screens were installed, which means that new wildlife was attracted to the area.
It also saves the town of Hallandale Beach money by helping public authorities deal with street waste more efficiently.
“Since we have implemented the surface water filters, only our street sweeper can clean up all the debris, all the rubbish that was in the way,” said Casimir. “In this way, we can allocate the other workers and other parts of the entire city to maintain our other waterways.”
Lopez hopes more coastal towns in South Florida will follow suit.
“That’s how you really act,” he said. “Everyone has an enormous ability to influence.”
The next batch of 200 monitors will be installed in Miami City by the end of the summer.
North Bay Village has also ordered around 50 screens for its surface water intake.
The monitors are not cheap and cost anywhere from $ 350 to $ 1000 each. This is the price our cities now have to pay because some people still want to throw rubbish on the street or out the window instead of just finding a rubbish bin.
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