L.A. County official suspects potential expansion at Scholl Canyon landfill, sparking controversy

Dive Brief:

Some Los Angeles County officials — namely L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar — are worried about a looming plan to expand Scholl Canyon landfill in Glendale, CA, though Glendale spokesman Tom Lorenz said no such plans are underway.
Referring to what he called misinformation, Lorenz explained to KPCC that a recently drafted environmental impact report (EIR) regarding the landfill, which the state requires in order to address potential landfill developments, has everyone skeptical. He explained while expansion is among possible reasons to file an EIR, the municipality is looking at other alternatives for landfill development, like waste-to-energy and increased recycling.
If a decision was eventually made to expand the dump, it would be years away, according to Lorenz. This did not satisfy Huizar, who said that the City Council was informed they would see the EIR this summer and that it does not include alternatives to expansion.

Dive Insight:

When there is any activity that could even hint at plans to take in additional massive trash volumes, those who are opposed get leery, especially because plans sometimes go into discussions without residents first being informed. Lorenz holds firm that nothing is going on behind closed city doors, and that nothing will materialize, pointing out that the city has been working on the EIR for over a decade as it examines multiple avenues.

"…You can look on our website, and we talk about several things that are important to us, and that is looking at ... maybe anaerobic digestion technology ... increasing the diversion of recyclables out of the landfill, and controlling who dumps at the site," he said to KPCC.

Huizar does not believe him, and criticizes Glendale officials for prioritizing in ways that will increase landfill dependency while other cities are moving in the opposite direction.

"What we're asking the city of Glendale to do is to not expand it, to stop its analysis and their environmental impact report ... and to find alternative forms of disposal," Huizar said to KPCC.