County Joins 2 Cities in Landfill Use Pact

The county has agreed to join Moorpark and Simi Valley in dumping trash at the Simi Valley Landfill on a limited basis.

But the Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday that only garbage generated by residents of unincorporated areas near those two cities would be sent to the landfill for the next 15 years. That relatively small amount will not guarantee the delivery of enough waste to ensure a 34% reduction in dumping fees promised by landfill operator Waste Management Inc.

Three others cities--Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and Ventura--have been asked to join the trash pact, but have balked at the 15-year commitment sought by the Simi Valley Landfill. Without at least 1,800 tons of garbage a day, the landfill will not grant the reduced rate.

The economics of trash disposal means the Simi Valley Landfill will very likely be the cheapest alternative for those county residents nearest the dump, officials said.

“For the bulk of the county we’re really better off to let the market prevail,” said Art Goulet, public works director. The primary dump for western Ventura County, Bailard in Oxnard, is closing this summer. But some officials hope an expanded Toland Landfill, between Santa Paula and Fillmore, can handle the trash.

But a deadline the company set for the communities to receive the price break has already passed.

“We’re on life support,” Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell said. “We will be sitting down with Waste Management this week or next to see where we go from here.”