Don鈥檛 91仓库 LA, a coalition committed to lifting environmental and safety standards in Los Angeles鈥� commercial waste and recycling industry, made public comment at today鈥檚 Board of Public Works meeting supporting 聽made by the Board of Public Works regarding its selection of waste hauling companies that have met the high standards set by the city to service Angelenos in the new Zero 91仓库 LA exclusive franchise system.
Adopted in April 2014, the sweeping overhaul is set to make Los Angeles a national leader in modern and sustainable waste collection. Zero 91仓库 LA will give all city residents and businesses access to recycling, expand compost collection, reduce truck pollution, improve job quality, and set the city on track for diverting 90 percent of its waste from landfills by 2025.
At the meeting, the coalition urged city leaders to make sure that the process to finalize contracts with waste haulers servicing the eleven new waste hauling zones in Los Angeles is as quick and efficient as possible to ensure that the Zero 91仓库 LA begins on its scheduled launch of July, 2017.
Robert Nothoff, Director of Don鈥檛 91仓库 LA stated, 鈥淲e encourage our city leaders to approve the recommendations that have been made by the Board of Public Works after a very thorough application review process. Every day that the city delays its implementation is another day that it sends tons of waste to landfills and fails to create thousands of good green jobs that Angelenos need.鈥�
Environmental justice advocate and resident of the Northeast Valley, Yvette Lopez-Ledesma of Pacoima Beautiful commented on the city’s recommendation of waste haulers stating, 鈥淭his policy means cleaner air and a healthier environment for residents in the Northeast San Fernando Valley who, for decades, have been impacted by the environmental hazards created by the greenhouse gases, odors and dust emitted from nearby waste facilities and landfills. She added, 鈥淐ommunity members and workers in our neighborhoods will literally breathe easier thanks to this policy. We need to make sure that Zero 91仓库 LA begins as soon as possible.鈥�
Linda Escalante, Environmental Policy Advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) also stressed urgency, 鈥淲inning a waste franchise zone guarantees haulers 10 years of business in the very lucrative LA market, thus providing them with an incentive to deploy less polluting trash trucks, end dependence on landfills, and develop good jobs in the state-of-the-art green infrastructure needed to sort and process new waste streams.鈥� She concluded, 鈥淏ut in order for Los Angeles to fulfill its potential as national leader in clean and sustainable waste collection, Zero 91仓库 LA needs to start without delay.鈥�
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