PLACENTIA : Some Think a Third Trash Can Is a Waste

Residents will soon be getting a mandatory third trash can for yard waste from the city, but some residents complain the additional can is not needed.

By the end of the month, a brown-colored container for yard waste will be added to the two trash cans already provided for household garbage and recyclable materials.

The third can is needed to comply with the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, said John Fraser, the city’s environmental coordinator. By the year 2,000, the city will be required under the act to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills by 50%, compared to 1990 levels.

“Realistically, the only way we’re going to reach a 50% diversion rate by the year 2,000 is to divert this yard waste from the landfill,” Fraser said. “I guess when people finally get the bins, we’ll find out who’s happy and who’s not.”

Luci Grismer, a 31-year Placentia resident who has been among those protesting the city’s waste management plans, said she’s definitely not happy about getting another trash container.

“As it is now, there isn’t enough trash to fill up the county’s landfills, that’s why they want to import trash from other counties,” Grismer said. “They’re sticking us with a third barrel we don’t need.”

Grismer said a recent $1.57-a-month increase in local trash fees for the new program amounts to asking residents to subsidize a business deal.

The city’s trash hauler, Taormina Industries Inc. of Anaheim, plans to sell the garden waste to a mulch manufacturer, according to city officials.

“They’re charging us to help them make money,” Grismer said.

But with a potential $10,000-a-day fine for not meeting state waste-reduction goals, Fraser said the city is left with little choice. “Obviously, fees had to go up here,” he said. “We decided this would be the best way to approach it.”