Community Recycling & Resource Recovery, a huge recycling facility in Sun Valley, has long made life unhappy for the neighbors. Rats the size of small dogs, scavenging birds, and assorted foul smells plague the community surrounding the plant, and the neighbors have been trying to get the city to take action. What's the problem? Residents want better conditions, but the city ultimately needs the recycling plant. Cease and desist orders have been issued and rescinded, and an environmental report was delivered five years behind schedule, while Community Recycling pledged $15 million to a city tree-planting program (a pledge they fell well short of fulfilling). Even better, as the LA Times explains, "the city's oversight has taken on a bizarre quality: Regulators, who visit at least every two weeks, have issued more than 70 'violations' over the last two years -- mostly for not complying with permits. The violations never result in any fines or disciplinary action, in part because the city has agreed not to enforce permit violations." With all that unresolved, the neighbors will no doubt be thrilled to learn that hearings start later this month for Community Recycling's plans to expand their operations to take in nearly 50 percent more food and plant waste. If the plans are approved they would make Community Recycling one of the biggest facilities in the state.
· Complaints recycled as much as waste at Sun Valley facility [LAT]
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