L.A. Considers Diverting More Trash to Dump in Sun Valley

In an attempt to spread the burden of dump noise and odors, Los Angeles officials are considering sending up to 175,000 tons a year of city-collected trash to the big Bradley West Landfill, a Sun Valley site that is about to change ownership.

Robert M. Alperin, principal sanitary engineer for the city Bureau of Sanitation, said Tuesday that the proposal would divert some waste from the city-owned Lopez Canyon Landfill in Lake View Terrace.

Lopez Canyon now gets nearly two-thirds of the 1.35 million tons of household rubbish collected by the city annually. Neighbors have complained about noise, odors and truck traffic from the dump.

The city proposal is an attempt to spread the trash around “so one community doesn’t get unduly burdened,” Alperin said. He said city sanitation officials are preparing to request proposals from Bradley West, including its proposed fees, for receiving city trash.

The contract would require City Council approval.

Bradley West, in a largely industrial area, has generated fewer neighborhood complaints than Lopez Canyon, which is near homes, said Councilman Ernani Bernardi, whose district includes the two landfills. Bernardi said he does not object to the Sun Valley proposal.

Dump Opened in 1980

The 200-acre Bradley West Landfill is owned by Valley Reclamation, a unit of Los Angeles-based CalMat Co. An agreement in principle, conditional on certain government and other approvals, was announced this week under which Valley Reclamation will be sold to Waste Management Inc. for $61.3 million.

Bradley West opened as a dump in 1980 on the site of a CalMat sand and gravel pit. Situated at 9227 Tujunga Ave., the landfill now gets 375,000 tons of commercial, industrial and residential trash per year, according to the Los Angeles County solid waste management plan.

It thus ranks eighth among 19 major landfills in the county, but is fourth in licensed capacity--the amount of trash it can accept without added government permits. It can accept another 10.5 million tons, the county plan shows.

At current dumping rates, the landfill would have a life of 28 years. However, William Plunkett, a Waste Management Inc. spokesman, said that “our current estimate is the facility would have a longevity of about 10 years.” He did not explain the discrepancy.

CalMat said it decided to sell the dump as part of a plan to focus on its core business, producing concrete, cement, asphalt and other construction supplies. CalMat said proceeds from the sale will be used partly to complete the acquisition of Van Nuys-based Industrial Asphalt. The latter is a major producer of asphalt-concrete, which is used for paving.

Largest in the Nation

Waste Management, based in Oak Brook, Ill., is the nation’s biggest waste-disposal firm, Plunkett said. Like CalMat, it is publicly held.

Waste Management is also a leading San Fernando Valley trash hauler. Plunkett said its trucks now carry only a small amount of trash to Bradley West. He said he did not know whether that would change after the sale.

But he said the site would continue as a landfill if the deal is consummated. He added that, regardless of ownership, general dumping rates at Bradley West will rise from the present $12 a ton to $14 on Jan. 1.

A price of $12 a ton for receipt of 375,000 tons would mean that Bradley West probably grossed about $4.5 million last year and that, even without the proposed additional trash from the city, the price increase would raise its gross income to about $5.25 million in 1987.

Overall, the city collects only a fraction of the 11.4 million tons of commercial, industrial and residential trash produced annually in the county, but city trash disposal is concentrated, with 93% of the city’s household refuse going to dumps in the Valley area. About 65,000 tons a year from the Harbor area, which goes to the BKK Landfill in West Covina, is the only city trash dumped outside the Valley area.

Besides Lopez Canyon, city trash is sent to the county-owned Calabasas Landfill and to Sunshine Canyon Landfill above Granada Hills, also known as North Valley Landfill, owned by Browning Ferris Industries. Another 2% of the city’s household trash goes to Scholl Canyon Landfill in Glendale, which is owned by that city and operated by the county Sanitation Districts.

2nd Largest Capacity

Each of the three now takes in more trash than Bradley, which has the greatest capacity in the Valley after Sunshine.

In response to complaints from Valley council members, city sanitation officials have been developing alternatives for trash disposal.

The city hopes to reduce the trash going to the Valley area in the early 1990s by opening a plant in South-Central Los Angeles to burn trash to produce energy. The council is expected to hire a consultant soon to study sites for two similar plants, one in the Valley and one on the Westside.

The city collects only garbage from homes and small apartment complexes. Trash from businesses and from larger apartment buildings is privately collected.