The county of San Bernardino is on the verge of becoming the largest recipient of garbage generated by the city of Los Angeles.
Within the next several weeks, it is anticipated San Bernardino County will close a deal that will allow the city of Los Angeles Sanitation Department to dispose of up to 600 tons of garbage a day at San Bernardino County landfills and pay less than the tipping fee paid by local cities and trash haulers.
County public works director Gerry Newcombe, who oversees the county’s solid waste management division, this week sought and obtained a directive from the board of supervisors authorizing county chief executive officer Greg Devereaux or Devereaux’s designee to submit a proposal responding to a request for proposal from the city of Los Angeles for processing/disposal services for residual municipal solid waste originating in the city of Los Angeles, at a  charge of between $15 to $30 per ton.
According to Newcombe, “The city of Los Angeles is soliciting proposals for processing and/or disposal services for 300 tons per day (minimum) up to 600 tons per day (maximum) of residual municipal solid waste. The term of the agreement requested by the city will be for five years, with one five-year renewal option. The county currently allows waste to be imported into the Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill through its operations contract with Burrtec Waste Industries at a price of $27.47 per ton and through an agreement with the city of Claremont at a price of $26.75 per ton. Those agreements differ in length of term and volume of waste from the agreement expected to result from this proposal. As a comparison, the various cities within the county that have 15 year waste disposal agreements pay $36.92 per ton.”
Despite widespread concern in communities worldwide about diminishing landfill capacity, Newcombe indicated that was not an issue in San Bernardino County, at 22,000 square miles the largest county in the United States outside of Alaska. Newcombe suggested that San Bernardino County could use its spaciousness and its multiplicity of landfills to generate money.
“The solid waste management division has determined that there is existing and future capacity at Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill due to the decrease in the volume of the waste stream being delivered to the county’s solid waste disposal system as a result of the current economic downturn,” Newcombe said. “The Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill currently has enough additional capacity to accept 2,500 tons per day of additional imported waste. The city’s proposal to import a minimum of 300 tons per day to a maximum of 600 tons per day will generate additional needed revenue.”
Newcombe said the county’s negotiator with Los Angeles should be authorized to accept the  service fee range of $15 to $30 per ton offered by Los Angeles.
“Should the solid waste management division be selected for importation of solid waste, the solid waste management division will return to the board of supervisors for approval of the revenue contract and request any necessary budget adjustments. The revenue amount will be determined based on the number of tons per day and the negotiated cost per ton,” Newcombe said.