FOUR FIRMS FIGHTING FOR TRASH DEAL PACT TO STRESS RECYCLING.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The competition for Santa Clarita's lucrative trash contracts is expected to be a hard-fought battle among three large conglomerates and an independent San Fernando Valley firm.

The Santa Clarita City Council wants two things from the new contracts that are scheduled to be awarded this spring: more recycling and lower rates.

But for the trash haulers vying for the contracts, Santa Clarita's franchise represents millions of dollars in profits annually and financial security for at least the next decade. At stake are two contracts - one for homes, one for businesses - that could total as much as $13.5 million a year.

City officials will spend the next several months refining the contracts and pouring over the proposals from the companies before selecting the best combination of price and service for Santa Clarita's residents and businesses, Mayor Cameron Smyth said.

The City Council is determined to recycle 75 percent of the city's trash in order to reduce the need for additional landfills in the Santa Clarita Valley. In 2000, Santa Clarita recycled just 42 percent of its trash. The City Council also wants to lower the $22.13 monthly rate residents pay for trash pickup, which is among the highest rates in Los Angeles County.

The city's current haulers, Santa Clarita/Blue Barrel Disposal Co. and Atlas/Consolidated Disposal Service, are both expected to vie for the residential and commercial contracts to expand their businesses in the growing Santa Clarita Valley.

The three largest trash firms in the nation own Atlas, Blue Barrel and challenger Browning Ferris Industries.

``These contracts are very lucrative - that's why you see the top companies in the nation vying for them,'' Smyth said.

The other firm preparing its proposal for the contracts is Crown Disposal Co., a relatively small, locally owned firm based in Sun Valley in the eastern San Fernando Valley.

``We're constantly experimenting and trying new things to say ahead of the curve and the big guys,'' said Tom Ybarra, sales manager for Crown.

Conglomerates allow companies to reduce costs because they might own everything from the recycling plants that process the used paper and plastic to the landfills where waste is ultimately buried, according to trash experts.

For example, Atlas' parent company, Republic Services, owns the only dump in Santa Clarita, the Chiquita Canyon landfill in Val Verde. Most landfills charge affiliated companies discounted rates to dump trash, which could allow Atlas to charge residents less than other companies. Atlas would also save on transportation costs to and from the dump because if its proximity to Santa Clarita.

``Having been here for many years, we know what the residents demand and expect from us,'' said Atlas General Manager Matt Terrell.

Waste Management-owned Blue Barrel, which has been operating in Santa Clarita since 1962, is almost as well-known for its sponsorship of the Concerts in the Parks series and the Jazz Festival as for its blue trash trucks and bins.

``With Blue Barrel, you get the best of both worlds - you get a mom-and- pop company with the strength of Waste Management,'' said Chris Fall, Blue Barrel's district sales manager.

The company has given thousands of dollars to local charities, and many of its officials sit on the boards of local nonprofit organizations. During marathon council meetings last year, dozens of residents urged the council to retain Blue Barrel because of its exemplary record of service.

``We like our chances,'' Fall said. ``What we are going to put in our proposal is going to be best for this community.''

However, much of the controversy during the last year has focused on Blue Barrel, which has been criticized for spending $32,000 to elect Councilman Frank Ferry and Councilwoman Marsha McLean. Blue Barrel had hoped to defeat Councilwoman Laurene Weste, a frequent critic of the company, but failed.

In addition, Blue Barrel was blamed for some of the reporting errors that prevented the city from meeting a state law that requires cities to recycle at least 50 percent of their trash.

However, Blue Barrel still counts among its supporters several prominent civic leaders and has stepped up its recycling efforts as well as a public relations campaign to convince the City Council it should retain the franchise, Fall said.

Blue Barrel and Atlas will continue to pick up Santa Clarita residents' trash until 2006, when the current contracts are set to expire. Most of that trash is now taken to Chiquita Canyon landfill.

BFI also is well known in the Santa Clarita Valley, but many long-time residents associate the company with its controversial plan to build a 190- million-ton landfill in Elsmere Canyon just south of the city.

Although the dump was thwarted by a $1 million Santa Clarita opposition effort and federal legislation, BFI's plans for the dump remain on file with Los Angeles County. Last year, BFI offered to give Santa Clarita most of Elsmere Canyon in return for a 20-year contract.

This go-round, BFI does not plan to offer Santa Clarita the lush canyon as part of its proposal for the trash contracts, and will instead focus on providing the best service at the best price, said Greg Loughnane, BFI's Los Angeles district manager.

``We'll achieve whatever goals the city of Santa Clarita sets out for us in terms of recycling rates and customer service,'' Loughnane said.

BFI's proposal will also face stiff opposition from the North Valley Coalition, a group of Granada Hills residents who blame BFI's Sunshine Canyon landfill for a host of health problems, a charge that the company denies.

The coalition does not want Santa Clarita's trash to be buried in its neighborhood, President Mary Edwards said.

Crown, on the other hand, is a virtual unknown in the Santa Clarita Valley.

``We're confident we can handle Santa Clarita's trash,'' Ybarra said. ``Everything the city needs is just 17 miles down the freeway.''

As evidence, Ybarra points to the company's efforts in San Fernando. Since Crown took over the city's trash pickup and recycling service in November, its recycling rate has more than doubled, according to San Fernando officials.

Residents in San Fernando pay $16.05 per month, officials said.

To win San Fernando's contract, Crown defeated the same rivals it will face in Santa Clarita - Waste Management, Atlas/Consolidated and BFI.

Crown is the only company bidding for Santa Clarita's trash contracts that has a materials recovery facility, which extracts recyclable goods from the regular trash.

That alone would boost the city's residential recycling rate by 15 percent to 25 percent, and the commercial rate by 50 percent, Ybarra said.

That reduction would make the company's rates competitive with its competitors, who all own nearby landfills, Ybarra said.

``We're looking forward to the competition,'' Ybarra said. ``I'm certain the best company will win.''