After the year 2014, Sunshine Canyon Landfill will be the largest disposal facility in the region, as the Puente Hills Landfill in Whittier is expected to close in 2013. A shortage of landfill space is predicted by 2014.
Sunshine Canyon Landfill’s daily capacity did not increase when it became a joint City/County landfill. The replacement CUP simply provided for a single operation within the landfill with a daily capacity of 12,100 tons, as opposed to two separate operations: 6,600 tons per day in the County and 5,500 in the City and a life expectancy until 2037.
As a result, out-of-county waste export is expected to increase from 20 percent to 50 percent by 2022. Trucking waste to a faraway landfill will cause higher trash rates from increased needs for fuel, trucks, and labor, as well as traffic congestion and air pollution. Greenhouse gas legislation could increase costs as well.
