Implosion of Detroit trash incinerator ends decades of stink

Detroit ― Detroit's incinerator on the city's east side was demolished early Sunday in a thunderous boom and among a crowd, including members of a cycling club, that had gathered to watch.

The controlled demolition of the facility's smokestack went off as planned, part of a yearlong demolition process of the former Waste Energy Facility, known as the trash incinerator. Within seconds, just before 6 a.m., the smokestack that had stood for 34 years was brought to the ground, a heap of debris that once represented trash-burning operations in the city.

Tyrone Clifton, director of the Detroit Building Authority, said everything with the implosion went as planned in a controlled and safe manner. The cleanup of the site should be completed by August, the city said.

“The full demolition of the incinerator is a relief to many people in the city,” Clifton said. “We owe it to them to remove this unwanted structure from their community in as safe a manner as possible, and we have the best team in place to do that.”

The incinerator's stack, until Sunday located at 5700 Russell near the intersection of interstates 94 and 75, had contributed to air pollution and health concerns for surrounding neighborhoods for 34 years, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has said. Residents and those driving near I-75 and I-94 often complained of the smell emanating from the site.

The incinerator hadn't been in operation for four years. In 2019, after pressure from the city to invest in air quality improvements, Detroit Renewable Power announced it would permanently shut down its trash-burning operations at the complex. At the time, its private owners said the plant was too old and costly to keep open. Since then, the city's trash has been going to landfills outside of the city.

Derek Stratelak of Grosse Pointe rode with his cycling club to see the implosion starting at 4:30 a.m. Sunday instead of their usual 9 a.m. ride.

“We thought we’d do something different and go see something unique,” Stratelak said. “It was exciting; something you don’t see every day.”

Before the implosion, the crew had a safety briefing, Stratelak said. The crew was focused on the implosion, Stratelak said. They said a prayer and described how the countdown would go; a horn blow 3 minutes and 1 minute before the demolition, and a 15-second countdown.

Once the countdown got to zero, the crew got the command to “Light it up,” Stratelak said.

The implosion, he said, was louder than he expected. He heard the explosions going off and saw the flash, then watched the stack start to lean. He heard someone with the crew say “Oh no, keep going” when the leaning slowed down.

He and other cyclists wore face masks on to protect them from the dust. He said he was glad they did because the dust cloud from the incinerator spread out.

The plant, originally built and operated by the city of Detroit starting in 1989, had been regarded by state officials as the largest municipal solid waste incinerator in Michigan.

Last May, the Detroit Building Authority selected Homrich Wrecking as the company to perform the demolition following a competitive bid process, the Mayor's Office said. As part of its proposal, Homrich has been selling scrap metals from the facility, which is generating approximately $1.3 million that will cover the cost of the demolition. Any surplus proceeds will go to the Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority.

Full demolition of the facility should be completed by July. The future use of the site has not been determined, the Mayor's Office said.

All hazardous materials inside the complex, meanwhile, were removed and disposed of prior to the dismantling and demolition proceeding. Dykon Explosive Demolition demolished the smokestack with the use of controlled explosives that caused the tower to fall westerly on the incinerator property, away from the closest residential area.

The mayor announced last year that the complex was being dismantled and eventually would be entirely removed. In April, the city began notifying community organizations that the stack would come down in June.

Although there are no residences inside the impact area of the implosion, the Department of Neighborhoods last week began conducting door-to-door outreach to homes outside the impact area to notify them.

Prior to the implosion, workers closed Russell and Ferry streets to establish a safety perimeter. Crews also will conduct wetting with water misting machines before, during and after the implosion to contain dust.

Immediately after the event, cleanup teams began cleaning roads and sidewalks in the immediate area. Workers also will be checking air quality and conducting vibration monitoring.

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