Sierra Madre : Yard Debris Collection Plan

Special curbside collection of yard clippings will begin next month as part of the city’s program to meet a state requirement ordering cities to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills.

Under the plan approved last week by the City Council, residents will be requested, beginning the week of Jan. 11, to separate all leaves, grass and other yard debris and place it at curbs in their own trash cans on a special collection day.

Western Waste Industries will pick up the material and haul it to a centralized composting operation.

For houses on and north of Grandview Avenue, the green material collection day will be Tuesday and for houses south of Grandview it will be Monday. Regular trash pickup and recycling will be on Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays.

Although green refuse collection will not affect rates, the council also approved a three-year, $5-per-month hike in fees to recover $600,000 in expenses incurred in settling the Superfund litigation of the closed Operating Industries Inc. landfill in Monterey Park.

The city, and many others in the region, were named as contributing to hazardous wastes dumped at the site between 1948 and 1984.

Assembly Bill 939 passed by the Legislature requires cities to reduce the amount of trash they send to landfills by 25% by 1995 and 50% by 2000. Fines of up to $10,000 a day can be levied.