Los Angeles Overhauls $220 Million Annual Waste System

Date: November 14, 2012

Source: News Room

The Los Angeles City Council has approved a hotly contested proposal that creates 11 new and exclusive commercial hauling franchise areas within the city. It is a market said to be worth $220 million per year. The plan, which still could face legal challenges, aims to increase hauling efficiency, boost recycling and reduce trash trucks by allowing a single hauler to service an entire area. However, the city Bureau of Sanitation will continue to collect from single-family residences and small multi-unit buildings. Officials say the goal of the plan, which is backed by environmentalists and organized labor, is to get the city to zero waste by 2025. Opponents, including business interests and many of the city's trash companies, argue that could be reached sooner and more cheaply under the existing more competitive system and that smaller "third- and fourth-generation businesses . . . will not be able to compete with the larger haulers," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, a candidate for mayornext year. The Sanitation Department must still work out the details, including how to setup the system, establish recycling goals and reconcile more than a dozen amendments such as exempting hospitals.

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