As the landfill grew so did the smell. Republic Services Inc., owner of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Sylmar, is undergoing a multi-million effort to expel odors that have bothered nearby residents in Granada Hills for years. An abatement order from the South Coast Air Quality Management District mandates the company take several steps to stop the odors, which district spokesman Sam Atwood described as a decaying trash smell and a “sickly sweet” gas odor. Over the past 12 months, Republic has spent between $5 million and $10 million on fixes mandated by the district, the firm said. The smells, Atwood said, seem to be attributable to the 2009 combination of what was previously two landfills, the increasing height of the landfill, the combination of two working faces into one larger face and an inadequate gas collection and destruction system. Requirements — which are many — include installing a permanent additional flare to burn away landfill gas, adding gas collection wells and beefing up the trash collection system. Republic has installed 155 new gas collection wells since last July and installed a temporary flare that came online in February, the company said. The new, permanent flare must be up and running by the end of June — a requirement the company said it is on track to meet. “No odors in the neighborhood — that’s our ultimate goal,” said the landfill’s environmental manager Patti Costa. “We are committed to being a good neighbor.” Residents have complained loudly about the landfill, which has about 60 workers and accepts roughly 9,000 tons of waste a day. The district received more than 1,300 odor complaints last year. Landfill general manager David Cieply said the steps taken by Republic — including eliminating some potential sources and pre-treating others — are starting to pay off. He said that landfill’s odor monitoring team has noticed a decline in the foulness of the smells. Still, he didn’t want to say how much the smells have declined. The true test, he said, are the state statistics. During the first two months of this year, complaints are down 14 percent to 267, according to district statistics. — Andrew Khouri
Ew! Landfill Works to Cut Odors
