LETTERS : TRASH ORDINANCE UNFAIR, INEFFECTIVE.

This is an open letter from the Quartz Hill Town Council to Los Angeles Supervisor Michael Antonovich.

At the request of representatives from Los Angeles County, the Quartz Hill Town Council sponsored a series of meetings about the proposed mandatory trash collection ordinance. The ordinance was extensively debated.

Votes were taken at each of the meetings and were unanimous in rejecting the proposed ordinance. The council members and the public were unanimous in deciding that the proposed ordinance was unfair to the people of the Antelope Valley, that it would not actually control trash dumping in the desert, and that in its present form it simply would not work.

The representatives of Los Angeles County admitted that the proposed ordinance would not solve the problem caused by trash dumped in the desert.

According to their own figures, only one-third of the trash dumped in the desert is household trash. The remaining two-thirds is business waste and lawn clippings and would not be affected by the proposed ordinance.

Of the one-third that is affected by the proposed ordinance, some is trucked in from other places and some is dumped by people who would not be covered by the proposed ordinance.

Accordingly, while everyone in the Antelope Valley would be burdened by the ordinance, only a small percentage of the trash actually dumped in the desert would be affected.

The proposed ordinance only applies to the Antelope Valley. Apparently Los Angeles County thinks that we who live in the Antelope Valley are particularly dirty, sloppy people.

To be fair, the ordinance should apply to the entire Los Angeles County and not just to the Antelope Valley.

There is no provision in the ordinance for exempting people who either generate no trash or who share a trash bin with a neighbor. Several of our constituents are retired, elderly widows who simply do not generate any trash.

They would be forced to pay some of their limited income to Waste Management or A.V. Rubbish for services they simply do not need.

There was also great concern about granting what amounts to a monopoly to Waste Management and A.V. Rubbish. Several members of the Quartz Hill public were very vocal about the conduct of those two companies.

After passage of the ordinance those two companies would be able to demand that every citizen in the valley subscribe to their service whether they need the service or not.

The ordinance would also create a public relations problem for Los Angeles County.

Anyone who wants to know about the impact of this type of regulation should attend one of Lancaster's City Council meetings, where Lancaster's mandatory collection policy is a constant source of public comment.

Waste collection, its cost and the lack of large-item pickup is a constant source of irate public comment at these meetings.

Los Angeles County is not enforcing the regulations it already has. There are regulations and laws already on the books that make dumping in the desert illegal.

Los Angeles County is not using these regulations because it regards enforcement as being too difficult and time consuming.

There are more direct ways of enforcing the laws that are already on the books but which Los Angeles County is not enforcing. Make people responsible for their own trash.

Much of the garbage that is dumped in the desert contains envelopes, bills, telephone statements and other information that gives the name, address and even the telephone number of the people who made the trash.

It would not be difficult to use this information to send a warning letter and notice of fine to the people whose trash was dumped.

Supervisor Antonovich has repeatedly stated that if the majority of the people and town councils were against the mandatory trash collection ordinance he would not introduce the measure.

The Quartz Hill Town Council hopes that he remembers this when the time comes to introduce this ordinance.

The proposed mandatory trash collection ordinance is a bad idea that was poorly executed and has been rightfully rejected by the people of the Antelope Valley.

Rod Stanfield, president

Jim Spaulding, secretary

Lawrence C. Hales, treasurer

Jim Tatangelo, council member

Prentiss Edwards, council member