Whittier : Trash Reduction Plan Not Bold Enough, Critics Say

The City Council has unanimously approved a long-term trash reduction plan amid complaints by some residents that the city’s plans are not bold enough.

Whittier created the plan to comply with a state law that requires cities to cut the amount of trash being sent to landfills 25% by 1995 and 50% by the year 2000.

According to the plan, city strategies to reduce trash may include curbside recycling, composting and mulching programs, and basing garbage pickup fees on the amount of trash that a home produces. The city plan also could result in raising fees at the city-owned landfill to help cover recycling costs.

City staff members intend to bring specific proposals for curbside recycling to the City Council within two months, officials said.

Critics of the plan include Fred Sarchet, chairman of a volunteer committee formed to promote recycling, who spoke during a public hearing at last week’s meeting. He said the city’s program would not meet the state’s trash reduction targets. “You’ve got a long way to go,” he told city leaders to the applause of about 30 people who attended the hearing.

Resident Emma Vogel said she doubts city claims that 27% of local waste already was being recycled. That figure was reported in a city-sponsored study. “I feel that report was like reading Ripley’s (“Believe It or Not”) report,” Vogel said.

Council members conceded that nearly all of the local recycling efforts to date have been organized by private citizens and local businesses.