Glendale landfill expansion causes stink among residents

GLENDALE, Calif. (KABC) -- A controversial idea to increase the size of Glendale's Scholl Canyon Landfill is creating quite the stink for nearby residents.

Eagle Rock residents held a news conference Wednesday outside the dump, which is owned by Glendale and run by Los Angeles County. They said a new environmental impact report indicates Glendale wants to expand the size of the landfill.

"The county and Glendale are proposing to put up to 8 million tons more trash into the landfill beyond what they are currently allowed to do," Los Angeles Councilmember Jose Huizar said.

"The project would allow a pyramid of trash in the dump to rise above the adjacent ridge higher than the great pyramid of Cheops and six times wider. We would forever view this monument to Glendale's greed and thoughtlessness," Eagle Rock Historian Eric Warren said.

Glendale officials said that is simply not true.

"We've made it very clear we have no immediate plans to expand that landfill, nor do we have plans in the near future to expand that particular landfill. I think this is... political soapboxing here," Glendale spokesman Tom Lorenz said.

Environmentalists say they would like to concentrate on recycling and shut down landfills like this one.

"Burying it in the ground just lets it create a soup that generates greenhouse gases. You end up with toxic output. You end up with none of the benefits of the materials that were dumped into the ground," said George Watland, senior chapter director for the Sierra Club in Los Angeles.

Glendale officials said they have a Zero Waste plan and they work to minimize the impact of this landfill.

"We would all like to have no waste and not have this problem, but we have to have a place to dispose of it," Lorenz said.