This sounds to me like a plan that includes incineration......
am
At 11:44 AM 1/24/2008 -0500, ricanthony@no.address wrote:
http://origin.dailynews.com/news/ci_8039428
City wants to quit using dumps and generate profits instead
By Sue Doyle, Staff Writer
Hoping to make landfills relics of the past, the city wants all 3,600
tons of trash picked up daily from Los Angeles residents to be recycled
or turned into compost or alternative energy by 2030.
Under the plan, city could make up to $100 million annually by sending
the extra tons of garbage to newly created recycling facilities around
Los Angeles instead of dumping it in landfills.
Known as the zero waste plan, it's part of the city's vision to move away
from using landfills in urban areas by 2011.
"We will not be using landfills," said Reina Pereira, project
manager for the city's Bureau of Sanitation, under the Department of
Public Works. "The majority of what we throw out could be a valuable
resource."
On Wednesday, the department is hosting a press conference to discuss its
ambitious energy goals, which got under way a year ago with public
outreach. Community groups, churches, environmentalists and others
meanwhile helped create plans to enable the city to reach zero waste by
2030. Those proposals will be released April 26.
Already, Los Angeles residents each day put out 1,000 tons of recyclables
from newspapers to beer cans and cereal boxes by the curb for
pickup.
Those bins sit alongside another 1,800 tons of leaves, tree branches and
yard clippings discarded daily in Los Angeles.
Whatever cannot be further recycled or composted from the department's
750,000 weekly customers could be turned into alternative
fuels, such as biodiesel or electricity to power our grid, said Alex
Helou, assistant director for the city's Bureau of Sanitation.
"Instead of just burying it in the ground and creating greenhouse
gases, we could use it as a resource to recycle, reuse and convert into a
resource that could create clean energy," said Helou.
It's too early to say how much money the city could make from these
alternative fuels, but there is definite potential to generate revenue,
Pereira said.
Already Long Beach converts garbage into electricity for its residents.
And it uses about 100 tons of trash from Los Angeles a day to do it and
also charges $42.50 a ton to take our garbage, said Helou.
But by using Los Angeles garbage to create energy for our city, we can
also reduce our costs instead of subsidizing Long Beach, Helou
said.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in May released a plan to cut greenhouse gases
in the city by 2020. It calls for the city to wipe out carbon dioxide
emissions by nearly 19 million tons - or 35 percent below levels measured
in 1990.
Today, garbage from Los Angeles gets hauled to Calabasas Landfill,
Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Sylmar and El Sobrante in Corona.
As it relies less on landfills, the city is considering building
recycling facilities in each of its six garbage collection districts in
Los Angeles and also adding composting sites.
"We have to look at how we can do more and recycle," said
Helou.
Already around town, the green eco-friendly spirit is in the air.
Environmentalists hand out free
reusable tote bags to replace the plastic bags.
Major food stores and pharmacies provide bins now for customers to
recycle used plastic bags following a law authored by state Assemblyman
Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys. Stores also must sell canvas or other reusable
bags.
Taking recycling further, future plans include making manufacturers take
ownership of packaging their products, which should include recyclable
items, Pereira said.
Stores selling cellular phones also need recycling bins for these
gizmos.
"Everybody who lives, works and plays in the city needs to
participate and do their share," Pereira said. "Not only making
the choices of how they recycle but how they purchase
products."
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