Q&A

What Have We Done To Make Our Landfills Last As Long As Possible?

All member cities are now recycling between 41% (with a Rural waiver with a goal of 32.9%) and 78% of all garbage in the Salinas Valley. Through a variety of innovative recycling programs and outstanding public participation in these programs, the life of the Salinas Valley landfills have been extended. We will continue to study new methods of improving recycling to reduce the garbage that goes into the landfills, but we also have the responsibility to plan and maintain capacity for the future.

What Other Options Are There Besides A New Landfill In South Monterey County?

In addition to a new landfill, the Authority Board is looking at other ways to dispose of the Salinas Valley’s solid waste. Future waste management options may integrate non-disposal methods such as composting, or other waste conversion technology. No matter what waste disposal systems are initiated, there will always be a need for a landfill as a lot of items are still thrown away because despite comprehensive education programs to the contrary, certain factions of the public deem it more convenient.

Can We Transfer The Authority’s Garbage to MRWMD?

The MRWMD does have the capacity to accept the authority’s waste but it would be an expensive option for the Salinas Valley ratepayers. After an exhaustive analysis of numerous waste disposal alternatives, all options utilizing the Marina landfill hikes Authority costs significantly. One of the major reasons is the Authority must continue to maintain the three landfills it owns, a very expensive undertaking whether the landfills are accepting waste or sitting idle.

What Are Waste Conversion Technologies?

Waste can be converted into less harmful materials and reduced in volume through a variety of biological, chemical or heat processes. These processes can produce marketable end products to help reduce costs, such as renewable energy or compost. Most of these technologies are new and still undergoing testing for large-scale application, but will hopefully provide us with new options for handling our garbage in the future, contingent on environmental and cost impacts.

Why is the SVSWA accepting out-of-county waste?

The SVSWA would not be accepting outside waste if the Board had not encountered considerable opposition to expanding one of its existing landfills (Johnson Canyon) to make it the long-term site of choice. All early financial planning assumed one of the other existing facilities would be expanded and budgeting was not done to fund a landfill search. Hence, to help finance the search for additional landfill capacity or other board directed alternatives, the need arose to either increase rates to Authority citizens or approve accepting waste from outside the county. It is important to note that all money for the importation of outside waste is set-aside for this purpose, and none of it is being allocated to daily operation of waste management.

Why was Hwy 198 selected as the area to research for the new landfill?

A Solid Waste Task Force, comprised of selected officials and community members throughout the Salinas Valley, went through an exhaustive process of identifying the best place to build a landfill. Based on the Task Force’s exclusionary criteria, every site reviewed in other areas of the Valley was judged unsuitable. All roads east of Highway 101, for example, went directly through cities, while all roads west of 101 went over marginal limited bridges and into large valley’s where water runoff was extensive or it was deemed prime agricultural land. Based on these criteria, the canyons off Highway 198 were targeted for further investigation.

Why does the Salinas Valley need 70 years of capacity?

Siting a landfill is a very time-intensive and costly process. It is not a project that should or can be undertaken on a regular basis. That is why the SVSWA Board directed staff to secure 70 years of capacity so it didn’t have to work through the process every few years. The Board could revise its goal to include 70 years of waste processing capacity, which would include landfills, recycling conversion, waste-to-energy or a long-term contract to deliver waste elsewhere.

Has the decision been made to build the new landfill on the Highway 198 property?

The region along Highway 198 has only been identified as a potential site. The SVSWA Board has neither established a single site of preference nor given any indication that it is close to such a decision. At this time, the Board has instructed staff to conduct feasibility studies to determine if all or any sites are acceptable as landfill locations.