Public Misinformed on Need for a Dump
* The Weldon Canyon dump initiative backers (mostly out-of-county investors) have misinformed the public, saying we need a new dump and that each part of the county can have a local dump.
Certain citizens like the idea of a neighborhood dump serving west Ventura County, but times have changed. The Supreme Court has ruled that trash disposal is like any business and that government cannot force private trash dumps to serve only a certain area. The privately owned neighborhood dump is a thing of the past.
Why don’t we need a new dump? Because of greatly increased recycling Ventura County’s need for trash dumps has been greatly reduced. There are actually too many trash dumps in this part of California.
Where will western Ventura County’s trash go? Very soon, more than half of this trash will be recycled and composted at the two large recycling centers being built in Ventura and Oxnard.
Where will the trash go that is not recycled? This decision will be made by cost and contracts just like any business. The companies that run trash dumps in Los Angeles County near Ventura County and two out-of-state dumps are fighting for unrecycled west county trash by lowering their dumping fees. This trash will go to dumps outside of Ventura County because the fees there are much cheaper than dumping at Simi or a Weldon dump. It is simple economics.
BRUCE ANSELMO
Ventura
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