Foes of Trash Importing Take Protest to the Street

The mayor, other city officials and about 40 residents stood along Ortega Highway with placards Wednesday to protest a county proposal to import trash from neighboring counties and dump it in the Prima Deshecha Landfill here.

Orange County officials say the move would generate $55 million a year to help the county dig out of the fiscal chaos created by the bankruptcy.

But San Juan Capistrano officials and some residents fear that hundreds more big rigs loaded with rubbish from San Diego and Los Angeles counties would rumble each day past homes and schools, bringing more noise and traffic to the historic town.

“They’re jamming it down our throats, and I’m very disappointed that they are somewhat callous about it,” said City Councilman Gil Jones.

Using a microphone to be heard over the din of traffic on a busy two-lane section of the highway, Mayor Carolyn Nash said residents should remain vigilant in opposing the trash plan.

The city, Nash said, should not “allow our community’s quality of life to be sold for the financial gain of the county.”

County administrators want to boost the daily flow of trash to the county’s three landfills, including those in Brea and Irvine, from the current 10,000 tons up to 16,000 tons, which could generate $55 million a year in dumping fees.

The proposal must go before county supervisors for consideration.

The Prima Deshecha Landfill now receives about 1,000 tons per day, but under the county plan, up to 4,000 tons per day would be trucked to the landfill, east of Interstate 5 and south of Ortega Highway.

And pending state legislation sponsored by Sen. William Craven (R-Oceanside) would exempt Orange County from time-consuming state environmental reviews if supervisors choose to import out-of-county trash.

Under a new amendment, the bill would limit the county to allowing only 750 tons of trash into the Prima Deshecha Landfill per day, but city officials are not ready to celebrate.

The bill, which they point out could be amended again, is scheduled to go to the full Senate today and requires a two-thirds majority vote for passage.

City officials calculate that between 400 and 500 trucks per day would drive to the Prima Deshecha Landfill under the proposed increase. Right now, an average of 174 trash trucks make daily trips to the landfill.

But Cymantha Atkinson, a spokeswoman for the county’s Integrated Waste Management Division, said the number of trucks actually would be 324 if the plan to import trash is approved.

County officials base that number on the expectation that only larger trash rigs would be used to import trash rather than the typical smaller-sized trucks.

Some residents who turned out for Wednesday’s protest said that Ortega Highway is already congested and the county plan would make it much worse.

“It’s going to be real bad,” said 64-year-old Nolen Boyer. “Look at the traffic now.”

Evan Mitchell, 83, said the importation plan is “only a short-sighted thing to get off the hook temporarily. To me, it’s insane to give up landfill space. They’ll be looking for more 10 to 20 years down the road for Orange County.”

Earlier this month, the county contacted trash haulers in Los Angeles and San Diego counties to gauge their interest in importing garbage to Orange County.

Atkinson said that haulers have until May 31 to file detailed proposals.