Alternatives for Waste Disposal
An article in the Jan. 31 San Gabriel Valley section of The Times was not objective reporting of the safe waste disposal and utilization conference held Jan. 28-29 in Monrovia.
Twelve inches were devoted to the California Waste Management Board’s position promoting trash incineration and landfills. Only five inches were devoted to alternatives advocated by the remaining 44 speakers.
The conference brought together waste management experts from 14 states. They presented alternatives to high-technology, capital-intensive trash-to-energy plants. Workable systems involve source separation, recycling, composting and landfills. Speakers noted the recent objections to trash burners in Los Angeles, Irwindale and Pomona. They also urged immediate action to employ low-technology, labor-intensive solutions based on consumer education.
The article focused on a minority presentation and ignored the consensus at the conference. Communities must employ new measures to solve the waste crisis.
The solution requires resource management, which is dependent in large measure upon political solutions.
Phyllis Papen(
Dexter MacBride Sr.
Diamond Bar Improvement Assn.
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