Landfill Foes Chain Selves to Oaks in Protest
Seven people chained themselves to oak trees at the mouth of Sunshine Canyon on Saturday afternoon in a symbolic gesture to protest planned expansion of a landfill there.
“This is to show . . . that we will be back when they do bring the bulldozers. This is a warning,” said Mark Andrews, 30, of North Hollywood, a member of the National Coalition Against Inappropriate Development.
The seven were accompanied by about 25 other people who hiked across six miles of forest land north of Granada Hills that is slated for destruction by the landfill, operated by Browning-Ferris Industries.
Although the group was trespassing on BFI land, company officials decided not to have them arrested, though a pair of police officers were on hand. The seven remained chained to the trees for about a hour, until BFI officials left the scene.
Jenny Koblin, 17, of Santa Monica said the point of the demonstration was to “make the public aware.”
“This is an emergency,” she said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
