Los Angeles Seeks Alternative Uses For Recyclable Materials

WORLD WASTES STAFF

Los Angeles - The City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works has launched a project to help close the loop on recycling at an unlikely location - the landfill.

According to the city, more than 800,000 recycled bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic will be used to build a liner cushion at the city's Lopez Canyon Landfill. City officials said this amount equals the number of PET bottles collected in a five-week period from the 440,000 households participating in the city's curbside collection program.

The city expects the new liner to be efficient , save space, meet new Environmental Protection Agency regulations and, in accordance to city goals, use recycled materials.

The project is scheduled to be complete by March of 1994.

Further efforts to create a demand for materials collected within the city include another recycling project underway at the Lopez Canyon Landfill. A new road, the Haul Road Realignment Project, is being constructed using a demolition debris called crushed miscellaneous base (CMB) in addition to 20 percent recycled asphalt.