COUNCIL WANTS BFI TO BARGAIN COMPANY OPPOSES PLAN FOR OTHER DUMPS.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

With 10 days left to decide whether to extend a contract for Sunshine Canyon Landfill, the City Council voted Friday to make a desperate final appeal to the dump's owner to keep the disposal cost down and let Los Angeles start shipping some of its trash to more remote sites.

Cooperation from Browning Ferris Industries could allow the city to send half of its residential trash to dumps outside the city limits for an additional $4 million a year, officials say. And that would help Councilman Greig Smith convince budget-conscious colleagues that it's time to fulfill a promise to end the city's reliance on urban landfills.

``The whole thing hinges on BFI and whether they want to be a good corporate citizen,'' said Smith, who pushed for the new negotiating team.

If BFI refuses to negotiate, Smith said, ``the council has to make a tough decision if they want to keep doing business with BFI.''

BFI officials were not at the council meeting and did not return phone calls. However, the company has previously said city leaders should not assume that BFI would be willing to reduce its dumping fees.

Council President Eric Garcetti plans to appoint a delegation of council members to approach BFI next week. The city has until Feb. 28 to decide whether to renew the five-year, $157 million contract with BFI, which now hauls 3,600 tons of refuse a day to Sunshine Canyon near Granada Hills.

Under the current contract, the city must send all its trash to Sunshine Canyon to get the $25-per-ton price, which totals about $29 million per year. BFI has warned that if the city breaks the pact and sends trash to other landfills, the per-ton price could jump to $45.

If BFI agrees to lock in the lower price, L.A. could send roughly half its trash to landfills in Riverside and Kings counties for an extra $4.15 million per year, according to estimates released Friday by the Chief Legislative Analyst's Office.

If BFI charges the higher rate, it would cost L.A. $12.69 million more per year to send trash outside city limits.

Waste Management Inc., which has proposed hauling some of the city's trash at its El Sobrante Landfill in Riverside County, urged the City Council to spend the extra money rather than rely on one company.

``If there was ever a situation that screams for competition, we believe this is it,'' said Doug Corcoran, Waste Management's director of operations.

Granada Hills residents said they would hold Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to statements he made in a letter to the North Valley Coalition last year in which he said he was prepared to support alternatives to Sunshine Canyon Landfill that cost an additional $9 million to $16 million.

Also on Friday, the City Council adopted Smith's RENEW LA plan, a 20-year blueprint for Los Angeles to reduce its reliance on dumps by expanding recycling, converting waste into energy and paying tax incentives for businesses using trash in manufacturing.

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com