Sun Valley celebrates as Bradley Landfill closes
Goodbye and good riddance! That was the sentiment at Sun Valley festivities Saturday to mark the closing of the long-despised Bradley Landfill.
In this northeastern edge of the San Fernando Valley, civic leaders and residents celebrated as the landfill received its final truckload of trash.
“We’re smiling because this dump we’ve had to endure in Sun Valley is closing,” Los Angeles City Councilman Tony Cardenas said after a ceremony to mark the occasion.
“Landfills are the most smelly, dirty way to deal with our trash.... This chapter for our community is now closed,” Cardenas said.
Despite the daily covering of trash, the smell penetrated homes, schools and every aspect of this working class part of the city.
Residents also had long complained of asthma issues, particularly among children. The landfill, however, was long the location for Los Angeles’ commercial garbage.
Waste Management Inc., the landfill’s operator, had sought a 43-foot height extension for it. But, faced with opposition from the community and Cardenas, the company in December withdrew its proposal.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, elected with the strong support of environmentalists, promised during the campaign to oppose the landfill expansion.
Waste Management is concentrating on converting a portion of the 209-acre property into a 100,000-square-foot, enclosed transfer and recycling center.
Cardenas said the project’s future would depend on community acceptance of the proposal, which includes an air system designed to contain smell and particles.
The Sun Valley area is home to more than 30 landfills and quarries that are in use or have been closed and topped off.
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