Pasadena Star News: 5.22.2013
The new treatment of green waste is being used as
alternative daily cover at the Puente Hills Landfill, but that is closing at
end of October. So, not many other cities know what to do with the stuff you
put out on your curb for separate pickup. Burbank Recycle Center
has a huge operation moving 80 tons per day of green waste to a fertilzier/recycling
facility in Fontana
SGV Tribune: 5.22.2013 by Steve Scazuillo
Most homeowners believe the myths about yard trimmings, namely that once they load them into a bin and drag it to the curb, the stuff gets recycled.
They would be wrong.
Most of what homeowners call green waste ends up in landfills. As alternative daily cover, it gets mixed with dirt and layered over the day's household garbage haul. The cover keeps the rodents and gulls at bay and counts toward a city's mandated 50 percent recycling rate. This is true except for Los Angeles, Burbank and Santa Clarita, cities that repurpose green waste as compost and soil amendments. Cities that many see as models for the future.
For 20 years, the myth of green waste recycling served a purpose, even if most choked on the semantics. But soon, that will change, setting off a ripple effect across the Southland that will bring about rising trash bills and roving trucks filled with green waste looking for a place to dump their loads. In five months, the largest landfill in the nation at Puente Hills will close, abruptly ending the green waste "diversion" program and most likely the free Christmas tree recycling enjoyed by county residents. One half of all the green waste in L.A. County won't be going to the gigantic Puente Hills Landfill near Hacienda Heights anymore but instead will be searching for a resting spot in a local material recovery facility or a composting farm in San Bernardino and Kern counties, experts say.
Most of green waste
not recycled; new laws, Puente Hills Landfill closure may force more composting
Trimmings: New laws, landfill closure may
force more compostingSGV Tribune: 5.22.2013 by Steve Scazuillo
Most homeowners believe the myths about yard trimmings, namely that once they load them into a bin and drag it to the curb, the stuff gets recycled.
They would be wrong.
Most of what homeowners call green waste ends up in landfills. As alternative daily cover, it gets mixed with dirt and layered over the day's household garbage haul. The cover keeps the rodents and gulls at bay and counts toward a city's mandated 50 percent recycling rate. This is true except for Los Angeles, Burbank and Santa Clarita, cities that repurpose green waste as compost and soil amendments. Cities that many see as models for the future.
For 20 years, the myth of green waste recycling served a purpose, even if most choked on the semantics. But soon, that will change, setting off a ripple effect across the Southland that will bring about rising trash bills and roving trucks filled with green waste looking for a place to dump their loads. In five months, the largest landfill in the nation at Puente Hills will close, abruptly ending the green waste "diversion" program and most likely the free Christmas tree recycling enjoyed by county residents. One half of all the green waste in L.A. County won't be going to the gigantic Puente Hills Landfill near Hacienda Heights anymore but instead will be searching for a resting spot in a local material recovery facility or a composting farm in San Bernardino and Kern counties, experts say.
Second, those in the waste industry may no longer be able to
count on alternative daily cover (ADC) formulas at other landfills in Orange
and San Bernardino counties, as well as Scholl Canyon Landfill near Glendale
and Calabasas Landfill in the west San Fernando Valley, both county operated.
A new bill rushing through the Assembly disqualifies ADC as a
recyclable use. With yard waste accounting for one-third of all the waste
generated statewide, that's a large adjustment for cities but one they must
make or face fines.
. . .
. .
One city that finds itself ahead of the organics game is
Burbank. The Sierra Club rated Burbank No. 1 in policies and programs that reduce
landfill disposal of yard waste and food scraps. Burbank, like Los Angeles,
does not use yard trimmings in its landfill. Like the city of Santa Clarita
(ranked No. 4 in the survey), Burbank recycles all its yard waste.
"We haven't used green waste for alternative daily
cover," said Kreigh Hampel, Burbank's recycling coordinator.
About 19,000 tons per day of green waste gets sorted at its
landfill in Burbank each year. The tree branches, grass clippings, etc. get
loaded onto 4-ton trucks which haul the material to the West Valley composting
and recycling facility in Fontana, operated by waste conglomerate Burrtec,
Hampel explained.
There, Burrtec grinds and aerates the material and sells it
as mulch for farms and landscapers, Hampel said. "They turn it into a
nice, black, rich soil amendment. It is compost. It has the nutrients the
plants need," he added.
Burbank produces more organic waste than cans and bottles,
more than twice as much in tonnage, Hampel said. Most suburban cities produce
more yard waste than cans and bottles. The cities of La Ca ada Flintridge, La
Habra Heights, and Villa Park in Orange County shipped more yard waste to
landfills in 2011 than regular garbage, according to The Organics Project
report. READ MORE !
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