Granada Hills residents gathered to voice their opposition to fire debris from the Palisades and Eaton wildfires being taken to Sunshine Canyon Landfill, holding a protest near Van Gogh Elementary School on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Sunshine Canyon Landfill is one of seven locations proposed for storage of debris removed from properties burned in the Palisades and Eaton fires that devastated parts of Los Angeles in January.
In order to take in the debris, Sunshine Canyon — and its operating company, Republic Services — are asking the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to grant a waiver that would allow the landfill to temporarily increase the daily tonnage allowed from 12,100 to 15,000 tons and allow for a temporary increase in hours of operations by one hour on weekdays and by two hours on Saturdays, according to Clean LA, part of Los Angeles County’s Public Works Environmental Programs division.
In recent years, the landfill has been the subject of thousands of odor complaints to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). In January, SQAMD received 118 complaints. Since 2016, the landfill has been ordered to reduce odors, and the operators took many steps to comply, but complaints from the public have continued.
On Tuesday a few dozen residents who live nearby protested against bringing wildfire debris to Sunshine Canyon, and many brought their children. The rally followed community meetings where about 100 residents expressed their concerns. And a change.org petition with 1,000 signatures, launched by a Granada Hills resident, is demanding that the debris be taken elsewhere.
Sunshine Canyon Landfill is classified as a Class III municipal solid waste landfill, meaning it will not accept household hazardous waste, according to Clean LA.
A Republic Services representative said it has extensive experience handling fire waste. “Sunshine Canyon is a strong community partner and a responsible option for this non-hazardous waste,” the Republic Services representative said. “The landfill has a state-of-the-art liner system, cover system and robust gas collection system to help ensure the material is managed safely and responsibly.”
All household hazardous materials are removed from the wildfire debris by the Environmental Protection Agency in “Phase 1” cleanup. It is taken to staging sites including Will Rogers State Beach, the former Topanga Motel, Lario Staging Area, Farnsworth Park, and the Altadena Golf Course, before it is taken to landfills and other locations classified to store hazardous waste.
The debris that is proposed to be stored at Sunshine Canyon and several other landfills has not been designated as “household hazardous materials.” The debris to be stored at Sunshine Canyon is removed from the burned properties after the EPA has already removed the hazardous materials — a secondary process spearheaded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, called “Phase 2.”
But some residents were not assured that all of the household hazardous waste would be removed from the debris taken to the Sunshine Canyon Landfill. At a protest this week, they expressed concerns about the landfill’s proximity to homes, the Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascades, and schools.
“We want to prove that this is safe, everyone is telling us that this isn’t going to be tested. They don’t know if this is safe,” Helen Attai, 67, said. “Why don’t you put it in the desert where nobody lives? It’s not fair to us, to the Calabasas people, to Burbank people.”
Attai has reached out to the South Coast AQMD on multiple occasions regarding the landfill, as she has long been concerned about the odors emitted from the landfill. Though she knows this debris isn’t going to be odor causing, it is another potential aspect of the landfill that gives her pause.
Meg Volk, 71, lives in the area right below the landfill. She is concerned that fire debris could make its way into the nearby aqueduct and affect water, as well as what she sees as the negative track record of the landfill.
“This landfill has had 2,187 complaints of odor in 2024 and 65 complaints of violation from SCAQMD. They’re incapable of controlling their on site odors now with 12,000 tons and they think with more they can do better? We don’t trust them, they are part of the problem,” Volk said.
Volk and other protesters said the fire debris should be taken to a landfill that is classified to accept hazardous materials.
“We’re against it. We know it has to go somewhere, but take it to a landfill that is classified to handle toxic waste. We always say, if we have to pay more to take our trash to the desert, we will do that,” Volk said.
With a long history of odor complaints lodged against the landfill, other protesters expressed apprehensions about the landfill’s general management and ability to handle the proposed tonnage increase.
Emil Mitev, 65, who lives about a quarter of a mile from the landfill, said, “Honestly? It’s our frustration with the management of the city and the community that do nothing (about the landfill) and now they think they can add more when they can’t even manage it (now).”
In addition to attending Tuesday’s protest, Mitev has also reached out to local leaders including the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
“I am seriously concerned that the city and its county partners will continue to pursue short-term and short-sighted solutions that kick the can further down the road while imperiling our loved ones and preventing our ability to open a window or take our children to play in local parks. I plead that our local elected leaders do everything within the power of their offices to prevent the dumping of any fire-related debris in the Sunshine Canyon Landfill,” Mitev wrote in a letter to the board.
Mitev’s son, 17-year-old Emil Steven Mitev, remembers being brought inside due to “sour” landfill odors when he was a student at Van Gogh Elementary, something many protesters say still happens today. Protesters chose the elementary school for the demonstration’s location to emphasize the proximity of the landfill to nearby schools. The landfill is about a mile away from Van Gogh Elementary.
Emil Steven Mitev shared his concerns about the debris being stored, joining other protesters in worries about the nearby aqueduct.
“It’s in close proximity to many neighborhoods, there’s schools with kids with growing lungs, additionally there’s a vital reservoir with water near the landfill. If the water reservoir is affected, it affects not only our San Fernando Valley, but the entire county of Los Angeles,” Emil Steven Mitev said.
Many residents at the protest had reached out to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and plan to attend the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 25, where the use of the landfill for fire debris is on the agenda. The landfill issue is one the board is well aware of. Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger have authored a motion to request an audit of Sunshine Canyon Landfill in 2024, following increased odor complaints.
“I also want to address the landfill debris plan,” Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said at an L.A. County Recovers Press Conference on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
“As we know, there’s been a lot of frustration in the community and I think that’s resulted from our inability to provide basic answers to residents’ questions on what the plan details are,” Horvath said. “That authority rests with the state, to select, license and ensure the safety of communities surrounding the landfills, in partnership with our federal government.”
Horvath clarified the board’s role and abilities in this situation.
“What is within the discretion of the Board of Supervisors is not whether (landfills) are licensed or whether they can operate, the discretion that we have as the Board of Supervisors are two things: Operating hours— can we extend them and can we increase the tonnage that is allowed to come into the landfills on a daily basis,” Horvath said.
Horvath said that state officials, invited to the Wednesday press conference, were unavailable.
“Obviously, that is also disappointing, because proactive community and transparency are essential,” she said.
Horvath recently hosted two town halls to hear from the community on this topic.
“As we know, getting clear answers to people’s questions is really what helps to assure people that the plan we have developed is well thought through and has their safety in mind,” she said.
Horvath said that an agenda item to allow Sunshine Canyon to increase operation hours and tonnage, originally set to be discussed on Feb. 18, was moved to the board’s Feb. 25 meeting so more time can be spent talking to the community about the proposal.