Los Angeles Agrees to Boost Recycling Services in City

The Los Angeles City Board of Public Works approved a Bureau of Sanitation plan to extend recycling services to all multi-family buildings – such apartment and condominium in the city.

The Board action follows what Board of Public Works President Cynthia Ruiz called a “highly successful” pilot program launched last spring to determine the feasibility of a recycling program for multi-family buildings and the best collection method. The plan will go to the mayor and City Council for consideration.

“This program will extend recycling services to all Angelenos,” Ruiz said. “This will be a huge step toward protecting the environment, preserving valuable natural resources and achieving our goal of diverting 70 percent of our refuse from landfills by 2020.”

The plan is also aimed at complying with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s directive for all residents of multi-family buildings in the City to have the ability to recycle by July, 2008.

“We currently divert more than 60 percent of our waste from landfill disposal,” said Rita Robinson, director of the Sanitation Department, “and we need aggressive and innovative programs like multifamily building recycling to achieve our 70 percent diversion goal.”

“A great thing about this program is that it will not involve the expenditure of any taxpayer funds,” said Ruiz, who explained that “the estimated cost of $6 million to $10 million annually would be paid by permit fees from private waste haulers operating in the City.”

The pilot program involved providing recycling services to 61,000 multi-family dwellings around the city, according to Enrique Zaldivar, Bureau of Sanitation assistant director, who heads the Solid Resources Group. “By extending the program citywide, recycling services will be available to all the 541,000 privately served multi-family residential units in the City,” Zaldivar added.

The Bureau of Sanitation already provides curbside recycling to 750,000 single-family dwellings and small multifamily complexes with fewer than five units.

Private waste haulers serve the 541,000 multi-family residential units in the City and will operate the recycling program under the supervision of the Bureau of Sanitation. The Bureau operates its own collection truck fleet to serve the 750,000 single-family dwellings and small multi-family complexes.