Recyclers Offer Bonuses in Effort to Save Landfill Space

Burbank Recycle has launched a bonus payment campaign in an effort to collect 10% of the city’s waste newspapers, recycling officials said.

At the same time, Los Angeles city recycling officials have announced that a curb-side collection program will be launched next month in parts of the West Los Angeles and West Valley area to decrease use of landfill space.

The Burbank recycling center currently collects about 5% of the 9,000 tons of newspapers tossed out annually in the city. Officials said the city’s recycling program has preserved 155,000 cubic feet of landfill space since it was started in late 1982.

During February, participants will receive an additional $10 per ton of paper they bring to the 720 Lake St. recycling facility, said Joy Hamilton, Burbank public works program analyst. The facility usually pays $30 a ton for newspapers.

Incentive for Pickup

Burbank Recycle also buys aluminum cans for 28 cents a pound, glass for $5 a ton and all-white office paper for $60 a ton, said recycling manager Kurt Mori.

Participants who leave their newspapers, bottles and cans on the curb for Burbank Recycle personnel to pick up on trash days also may benefit from the promotional campaign, said Mary Isham, Burbank Recycle controller. Although they are not paid directly for their recyclable materials, a check for $4.25 to cover one refuse bill will be mailed to every 100th house with newspapers left on the curb, she said.

The Burbank program, which started in September 1982, has served as a model for several other recycling efforts, including programs in Redondo Beach and Santa Monica. In addition, Los Angeles city officials will initiate a pilot curb-side collection program around portions of the West Los Angeles and West Valley area next month, said Robert Alpern, Los Angeles city sanitary engineer.

He said the recycling programs are part of a growing countywide effort to decrease use of landfill space. The California Waste Management Board has predicted that two-thirds of all landfills in the county will be filled to capacity and closed this year.

The state-funded Los Angeles pilot program will focus on about 15,000 homes in predominantly affluent areas, because Environmental Protection Agency studies have shown that residents of well-to-do areas are more likely to participate regularly in a recycling program, Alpern said.

He said engineers also defined the area, which lies mostly south of Mulholland Drive and west of Topanga State Park, so that it covers reasonably remote areas and discourages scavenging.

Although Alpern does not expect the program to make a profit by selling the material to recycling plants, he said it would be counted a success if it significantly cuts down the amount of refuse that must be dumped in county landfills.

To keep costs down, the pilot program has borrowed several labor-saving ideas from Burbank Recycle, including use of a one-man, side-loading truck designed to use as little fuel as possible, Hamilton said.

Los Angeles recycling officials also plan to hand out plastic containers to make it easier for residents in the collection area to store recyclable materials in separate piles and haul them out to the curb on collection day, Alpern said.