By Clarence Cromwell
Newby Island Landfill might be the answer to local cities' garbage disposal fee disputes, said a consultant hired by West Valley cities to compare Guadalupe Landfill's service to other nearby landfills.
Switching from Guadalupe to Newby Landfill could save the municipalities more than $800,000, environmental consultant Michelle Yesney concluded.
After more than a year of trash-fee debate and litigation, Los Gatos is expected to approve the change of dumps at a July 15 meeting. The three other West Valley cities, Saratoga, Monte Sereno and Campbell, have already decided to sign a contract with Newby Island.
For residential trash customers, the switch would bring lower rates. But the West Valley cities haven't determined yet what the exact amount of the savings will be in each community, said Vera Dahle-Lacaze, the cities' solid-waste program manager.
The savings will be produced by lower tipping fees and efficiency in emptying trucks.
Although trucks would drive a few minutes farther to get to the dump, near Dixon Landing Road in Milpitas, they'll also spend five minutes less emptying out, according to the study. The time savings added to Newby Island's proximity to the Green Valley's truck yard will mean that the trash carrier can complete its trash pickup with one less truck on duty each day.And the tipping fees at Newby Island are lower than fees Guadalupe wants customers to pay.
The West Valley cities usually negotiate together for rates and contracts, but they sign separately.
Switching landfills won't affect the West Valley cities' contracts with the Green Valley Disposal Company. Although they are owned by the same parties, the contracts for trash pickup and dumping are separate.
Three West Valley city councils have dismissed assertions by the law firm Matteoni, Saxe & Nanda that the environmental assessment for the change of dumps was not thorough enough. Guadalupe claims that information about the maximum capacity of Newby Island isn't up to date; that the study doesn't consider whether trash from four more communities will fill the dump earlier than expected; or that the longer drive to the dump will burn more fossil fuels and bring more pollution from the tailpipes of garbage trucks.
Yesney, the consultant who performed the study, responded that the dump information was the most recent available; that there's plenty of room in the dump because it's accepting less trash than the maximum allowed now and that the study on potential pollution followed standards required by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
The West Valley cities proposed to break their 20-year contract with Guadalupe Landfill seven years early, after the dump sued all four cities in October 1995 for the right to charge higher fees. The cities said they should have been paying $37 a ton, about $10 less than the dump charges now.
A survey of trash dump rates showed that Newby Island Landfill charges $34 a ton.
Attempts to reach Guadalupe Landfill officials by press time were unsuccessful.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, July 10, 1996.
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