Sonoma Group Report

Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, December/January 2005

http://www.redwood.sierraclub.org/articles/Current/SonomaGrpRpt.html

Suzanne Doyle, Sonoma Group Conservation Co-Chair

A slow-motion crisis in solid waste disposal in Sonoma County has been unfolding since 2003, when the county landfill sprang a leak. Suddenly, important decisions need to be made right away.

Pre-leak, the county's waste-disposal system was close to reaching the state's mandate of 50% solid waste reduction by 2003. Most of the county was trucking source-separated garbage to the Central Landfill, near Cotati, where a new recycling and toxics handling facility is being built. The centralized system allows greater efficiency in recycling, disposal and hazardous waste treatment. The county planned to expand the existing dump so that it could be used until 2015. A state-of-the-art clay liner was built for the new section to keep landfill seepage out of groundwater.

When the leak in the liner was discovered, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, the state agency in charge of water quality, stopped expansion of the landfill. Capacity in the still-usable part will run out in about a year, and the county has already begun trucking 30% of its waste to a dump in Solano County. If the landfill expansion is not repaired and allowed to begin operation soon, all of the county's waste will soon be trucked somewhere else. Not only does it increase fossil fuel consumption and air pollution, but it violates the sustainability concept of "take care of your own mess". A further problem is that the cities are beginning to act individually, contracting with other counties' landfills to lower their own garbage rates. This reduces the power of the county to act as a larger, more economically efficient, unit. The Board of Supervisors has commissioned a study of waste-disposal alternatives from consultants Brown, Vence & Associates. BVA has proposed a wide range of possibilities, such as continuing to transport waste to other counties, privatizing solid waste disposal, building a digester to process organic waste, and finding sites for new landfills. They have also included the option of adopting a zero waste policy.

Zero waste is the Sierra Club's waste disposal goal and the policy of the California Integrated Waste Management Board. It has been adopted by several other counties, including San Francisco, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo. Zero waste would be a challenging and lengthy process, but an excellent goal for the county. Steps to reach it would probably include increased recycling, banning some materials from the landfill, and regulation of packaging within the county.

We have a great opportunity to improve the county's solid waste disposal policies. The BVA alternatives are being considered by the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency, which may recommend more than one option. The Sonoma Group is keeping a close eye on the process.