Shedding Light on the Simi Landfill

by Mike Smith, Director of Operations

As we get ready to turn the page on 2010, I would like to take a moment to share with you why our innovative plan for the Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center will make Ventura County an environmental leader.

There has been a lot of rhetoric out there about the landfill's owner, Waste Management of California, Inc., and its proposal for the facility. I am writing today because I believe county residents deserve to know the truth about the project and to make up their own mind about its merits.

Proposals such as ours require years of study and public review before our elected officials vote on whether or not to approve them. In 2003, we started the process to transform our facility, located just outside of Simi Valley, into a world-class recycling and green-power facility.

Since then, our proposal has undergone more than $1 million worth of in-depth studies by environmental experts.

Here are the basics on the size of the facility. Today, the landfill takes up about 185 acres. Waste Management owns more than 2,700 acres around our current landfill. Our proposal would add 186 acres to the current landfill. That means that the entire acreage used for disposal would be 371 acres.

If our proposal is approved, the new landfill will be surrounded by 2,573 acres of additional land that will never be used for disposal. At least 500 acres of that additional property will be preserved as open space and natural habitat for native plants, birds and animals, including bobcats and mountain lions.

Our proposal expands our ability to recycle materials like construction and demolition waste, home appliances, paint and electronics waste and green waste. Our production of green energy from the methane that is naturally created by our landfill would increase to provide power for 6,250 homes.

Additionally, if our proposal is approved, methane from the landfill can be converted to natural-gas fuel for cars and trucks, including the recycling and refuse collection trucks used on local streets.

Think about that. The stuff we throw away will be transformed into a clean fuel that helps clean up our air.

Our proposal uses the most advanced green building practice out there for the construction of new buildings on the site. That means we will use recycled and sustainable building materials, energy-efficient lighting, green energy programs and recycled water. The new facilities will be a showcase for all to learn how to "Think Green" and "Build Green."

Some have questioned the need for landfills. They say that newer technologies are the way of the future. We couldn't agree more.

The simple fact is, however, that the newer technologies are coming along, but they are not ready to meet today's trash volume demand. As new technologies are tried and tested, a modern, technologically-advanced and environmentally responsible landfill is still needed to provide safe, reliable disposal.

The community's environmental health and safety, not to mention the local and regional economies, need that safety net.

When the day comes that newer technologies are up to the challenge, landfills will become less critical for disposal needs. Until then, however, our proposal will ensure that we are here to take care of the city of Simi Valley and the rest of Ventura County for as long as you need us.

Being environmentally cutting edge doesn't mean a thing if we can't keep people working - and put even more people to work. We'd like to add 150 jobs over the next 15 years to the more than 230 good-paying jobs we currently have. More than 70 percent of the people who work for me now live in Ventura County and many of them - like me - have lived here their whole lives.

Let's do something that's good for the environment and the economy. Let's get this project done.

- Mike Smith is the director of operations for Waste Management in Ventura County.