Urban Landfills

Patt Morrison’s excellent Jan. 17 column about the Lopez Canyon Landfill could have been written about any of the many urban landfills that similarly affect nearby communities.

The Puente Hills Landfill is the nation’s second largest and it is expanding right next door to the preexisting homes in Hacienda Heights. Odors, sea gulls, dust, litter and constant noise are just the most visible impacts of this megadump.

Underground, according to a draft report from the State Water Resources Control Board staff, contaminated water is leaking from the landfill. The leakage runs toward the adjacent San Gabriel River aquifer, drinking water for a million people. The Azusa Landfill, an unlined dump in the river gravels, is also documented to be leaking into the same water source.

Landfill Alternatives Save Environmental Resources (LASER) wholeheartedly supports Morrison’s reference to recycling as part of the solid waste solution. We must use less and reuse more. It makes good economic and environmental sense. We are making slow progress in that regard, despite the powerful lobby of the L.A. County Sanitation Districts.

Another, and more immediate, alternative to urban dumps was covered in The Times on Christmas Day. Remote landfills, like the Mesquite Landfill in Imperial County, can provide near-term disposal sites remote from residents and their drinking water. Transitional use of remote sites will help in developing sound solid- waste policies for Los Angeles County residents.

JEFF YANN

2nd Vice President, LASER

Newhall