Detroit Incinerator to be demolished starting in June 

A symbol of air pollution in Detroit is getting demolished. The downtown incinerator at I-75 and I-94 is coming down this year.

Kevin Jones has lived near the incinerator all his life. He says the smells that came from the burning garbage were awful.

“I used to coach all the kids from the community and we just had to stop practice because it was terrible,” he says.

City officials say they will start demolishing the smokestack and nearby buildings in June. Detroit Renewable Power used to burn trash at the 15-acre site that lies in the middle of the city to generate energy.

Sandra Turner-Handy led the effort to shut down the incinerator as a director with Zero Waste Detroit. She says she welcomes the news.

“I want to see the smoke stack gone. That’s the most important thing. But I want to see the land reused for community benefits, for community good,” Turner-Handy says.

Residents developed health problems after living near burning garbage and deserve restitution, Turner-Handy says.

Residents have long complained about pollution from the incinerator, which shut down in 2019 after operating for 30 years. The facility received hundreds of violations from state environmental regulators.

KT Andresky with Breathe Free Detroit says asthma and heart problems run rampant on her block.

“We lost 22 members of our community to COVID-19 because of the pre-existing conditions that they had from living next to an incinerator,” Andresky says.

Community activists are calling for soil tests as demolition begins. Officials in Detroit, which owns the property, claim there’s no contamination at the site.

Mayor Mike Duggan says demolitions will take about six months to finish. The plan is to keep some structures to re-use as the new animal care headquarters and to store city vehicles. One area could be used as a waste transfer facility.

Duggan says Detroit is discussing other plans for the site and will get money from the deal.

“The demolition isn’t going to cost us anything. We’re going to sell the materials. And after we sell the materials, we’re going to get $1.3 million back.”