Glendale Landfill Curbs May Stimulate Recycling

Glendale’s decision to severely restrict the use of its Scholl Canyon landfill may provide the spark to start a trash recycling movement in large parts of the western San Gabriel Valley.

In an effort to prolong the life of its landfill, Glendale decided this month to exclude all but a few neighboring communities from dumping trash at the 430-acre facility.

But as part of the deal, Glendale will require communities that continue using the dump, including Altadena, Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose and the unincorporated county areas bordering them, to begin comprehensive waste reduction programs.

“The leverage is the landfill,” said George A. Miller, director of public works for Glendale. “If those cities do not reduce their waste, they will not be dumping. . . . Glendale has taken the lead and will set the agenda.”

At the top of the agenda is recycling, which could remove as much as 23% of the residential waste now going into Scholl Canyon, according to a recent waste management study.

Miller said Glendale is certain to ask communities to institute voluntary recycling programs and may eventually force mandatory recycling, which would require residents to separate their bottles, cans and papers or face possible criminal prosecution.

Program to Expand

For the past year, Glendale has had a voluntary recycling program involving 1,040 homes, and for the coming year it plans to expand the program to the entire city.

Mandatory recycling may not be far behind, judging from an informal poll of the five-member Glendale City Council.

The council has asked the Public Works Department to study the feasibility of a mandatory program and report back in 12 to 15 months.

But Councilman Carl Raggio said the three-vote majority needed to pass such a plan already exists.

“I don’t see anything to stop the city from passing a mandatory recycling ordinance,” he said. “The only question left is when.”

Councilman Jerold F. Milner added: “Unless there is a significant change in the council, we will have a mandatory program. It’s only a matter of time.”

Major Impact

If Glendale institutes a mandatory program, it would have a major impact on neighboring communities that dump at Scholl Canyon.

“If we go to mandatory, we would have to request (that) everyone else do the same,” said Councilman Larry Zarian. “We have to do something serious. It’s not a game anymore.”

Glendale’s push for recycling stems from a recent waste management study predicting that at the current rate of dumping, Scholl Canyon will be filled to capacity in 10 years. The landfill now takes in about 33,600 tons of garbage a week.

The amount of trash dumped at Scholl Canyon has tripled in the last 10 years, bringing the community to what Miller called “a crisis stage.”

To prolong the life of the landfill, the City Council agreed to ban trash from about 45 cities, including Los Angeles, beginning Dec. 28. The ban is expected to extend the life of the landfill to 2012, the report said.

Life to Be Extended

If all the communities that continue to dump in Scholl Canyon institute voluntary recycling programs, the life of the landfill could be extended another year, according to the report.

A mandatory program, however, could extend the life of the landfill by five years beyond 2012 and help reduce waste long after Scholl Canyon is closed.

If implemented, Glendale and its neighbors would be the only communities in the state and among the few in the nation to have mandatory recycling programs.

Other areas include the states of New Jersey and Rhode Island, which enacted statewide mandatory recycling laws this year.

Officials from neighboring communities concede that a mandatory recycling program could spark a public outcry over what Glendale Councilman Milner called the “slightly onerous” intrusion of government.

But officials add that the dwindling amount of landfill space makes mandatory recycling imperative.

“I don’t think we have a choice anymore,” said Sierra Madre Councilwoman Lisa Fowler. “To not recycle is just burying your head in the sand.”

Zarian said he expects the other communities using Scholl Canyon to have little problem starting voluntary recycling programs.

Pasadena Program

Pasadena, which will be the largest user of Scholl Canyon behind Glendale, unveiled its voluntary recycling program this week.

But the big problem will be trying to get those cities to institute mandatory recycling.

In Glendale’s case, Milner and other officials envision a phased-in program that would begin with voluntary recycling and a public education campaign.

Once mandatory recycling began, those who refused to cooperate would first be warned but later might face penalties, he said. Such penalties could include prosecution for a misdemeanor violation or a temporary halt in garbage collection, the waste management report said.

One of the major concerns about mandatory recycling is the difficulty of enforcing it.

“Are we going to hire a police officer to check if someone is putting a Coke can in their garbage? Are we supposed to be going through everyone’s garbage?” asked Glendale Mayor Ginger Bremberg, who opposes mandatory recycling.

Bremberg added that mandatory recycling could open the door to “midnight dumpers” who would throw garbage out of their car windows rather than separate and save recyclables for collection.

But Zarian said mandatory recycling will work if there are strict penalties, selective enforcement and strong public awareness of the need to extend the life of the landfill.

“Not everyone who cheats on their taxes gets caught, but God help the ones that do,” he said. “It’s not going to be perfect, but it is the best we can do.”

Support by Officials

Despite the potential for a public uproar, mandatory recycling has won support from many officials in neighboring communities.

“I applaud them for really doing something,” said Sierra Madre’s Fowler. “A mandatory program may be pushing people faster than they want, but unfortunately they have no choice. It has been too easy for too long.”

La Canada Flintridge Councilwoman Joan C. Feehan said a push from Glendale may be the only way to force a mandatory program in many cities.

“No one wants to do something unless they have to,” she said.

Edward Aghjayan, Pasadena’s deputy city manager, said the city will have to study the feasibility of a mandatory program. But he added: “If Glendale sets a goal, there’s no reason Pasadena can’t match it.”

Glendale’s Milner warned, however, that the budding recycling movement could be nipped by an outraged electorate.

Yorty Used Issue

He pointed to 1961, when Sam Yorty was elected mayor of Los Angeles partly because of his vow to abolish the mandatory recycling program in Los Angeles.

But Milner added that in 1961, unlike today, landfill space was plentiful.

According to Glendale’s waste management study, at least four landfills in the region have been closed in the last seven years and another seven will be closed in the next 10 years.

Milner said voters could reject mandatory recycling in the years to come, as they did in 1961, but would have to pay a higher price.

Dumping fees will go up as communities compete for scarce landfill space, he said, and transportation costs will skyrocket as haulers are forced to travel to distant dump sites.

“If people want to get rid of their garbage, it’s going to cost them,” Milner said. “And I mean big bucks.”