Suggested Expansion of Landfill Opposed
Rejecting a Ventura County grand jury recommendation, officials with the county’s solid waste department said there are no clear reasons to drastically expand the capacity of the Toland Road landfill.
In its annual report, the grand jury had suggested that the landfill between Santa Paula and Fillmore begin accepting up to 1,000 tons of trash per day. The landfill is now licensed to accept 125 tons per day.
The grand jury recommended the increase to help generate money to pay for the closure of the dump.
But Kay Martin, director of the county’s Solid Waste Management Department, said Toland is not scheduled to close for another 40 or 50 years, allowing plenty of time to pay for the closure.
Moreover, she said raising the capacity of Toland would require lining the entire dump and installing a methane gas collection system, both costly ventures.
Even if that were done, she said, there is no guarantee enough trash would be brought to Toland to justify the expansion and cost of retrofitting.
Another landfill off California 126 in Los Angeles County is already being planned for expansion.
“They’re proposing to take 10,000 tons a day. When you get a high volume site like that, it becomes difficult to compete on price,” she said.
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