Don’t Waste L.A.- Expand Recycling

Los Angeles needs to do more to create a more efficient, safer and better managed recycling service for commercial and apartment buildings. While great progress has been made, particularly over the past year, the current pace of progress is not fast enough to ensure that we will reach the Zero Waste goals we’ve set for our City by 2030. Despite our efforts and despite ever improving recycling rates, we’re still sending over 3.5 million tons of trash to landfills and incinerators every year, and a full 70 percent of that comes from commercial and multifamily properties. The City collects all trash from single family homes.

We need to franchise recycling collection for commercial and multi-family units in the City to ensure that all Angelenos have the opportunity to recycle, that the trucks and work conditions used to process the recycling are safe, that rates are uniform and fair, and that we cut down on the amount of recyclable refuse that ends up in our landfills. Today’s report by Don’t Waste L.A., a coalition of 30 organizations, outlines these and other recommendations. I support the spirit of these efforts and as the Chair of Public Works, I will be looking to work on these recommendations, with the help of my colleagues and the Bureau of Sanitation, in the coming months. Los Angeles should lead the way on this issue and we will.

Operation Pothole to Launch This Weekend

As the Chair of the Public Works Committee, I wanted you to know that Operation Pothole will take place this weekend, and I want to encourage all City of Los Angeles residents to call 311 to report potholes in their area.

With the recent rains causing road damage, we’ll have 50 crews working throughout the City filling potholes on Saturday and Sunday, but we need your help to ensure that the Bureau of Street Services knows where the potholes are located.

The expanded crews will work to fill 10,000 to 15,000 potholes throughout the City this weekend.

So if you see a pothole, call 311 and let them know where it is located.

Fighting Illegal Dumping in the City of Los Angeles

Yesterday I joined with the Bureau of Street Services (BSS) Gary Harris, Estela Lopez from Central City East Association, LAPD Central Capt. Todd Chamberlain and local business representative Jim Bickley to publicize the City’s new program that allows us to more easily fine violators who illegally dump in our streets, alleys and parkways.

The new amended ordinance is primarily designed to go after large-scale offenders, usually businesses or contractors, by allowing the BSS to issue administrative fines based on evidence found to combat illegal dumping, the No. 1 environmental crime in the City and State. In the City of Los Angeles we spend more than $12 million a year to deal with illegal dumping, and in this tough economy that money could certainly be used elsewhere. As the Chair of Public Works, I helped usher this legislation through and I want to thank BSS and the Board of Public Works Commission for bringing this idea to my committee.

The amended ordinance means we will no longer have to catch perpetrators in the act to effectively go after them. The program allows BSS, or trained organizations, such as Business Improvement Districts or Neighborhood Councils, to gather evidence from a dumping site that links the garbage to an address, business or individual. From there BSS will issue citations in the amount of $500, $750 and $1,000 for successive violations in a 12-month period. After the fourth violation, it will be referred to the City Attorney’s office for prosecution as a misdemeanor offense.

If your organization is interested in getting trained to help enforce the illegal dumping ordinance, please call 311, the Bureau of Street Services or my office for assistance.

Please call the City’s 311 line or any one of my district offices for FREE bulky item pickup. Council District 14 also sponsors a roving bulky item truck throughout the district.

Council Adopts Councilmember José Huizar's Proposal to Institute Higher Penalties for Illegal Dumpers

(Photo credit: Edited version of the new South LA Transit Rider ad)

As chairman of the Los Angeles City Council's Public Works committee, Councilman Huizar championed stricter and heavier fines for individuals and companies guilty of illegally dumping items on the public right of way. Click here for the most recent agenda.

The heavier fines allow the City to assess a fee in the amounts of $500, $1,000, and $1,500 for the first, second, and third violations respectively.

The fines will be administered by the City's Bureau of Street Services, with the City Attorney following up to prosecute violators.

The Bureau of Street Services also conducts stings at “hot spot” locations where dumping is excessive and frequent in order to catch violators in the act of illegal dumping.

In these instances, violators and the associated company are tied directly to the act and swifter fines and heavier penalties can be imposed.

Councilmember Huizar is committed to addressing environmental issues and works tirelessly to improve the quality of life for Council District 14 residents.