Since the late 1980’s, the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County (Sanitation Districts), in conjunction with other public agencies, have been studying means to address the projected shortfall in local solid waste disposal capacity. Currently, nearly all refuse in Los Angeles County is transported to disposal sites in the metropolitan area by truck. However, as public opposition to siting new or expanding existing disposal facilities near urban areas has grown, sites farther from the Los Angeles Basin have become more desirable, despite the transport costs associated with longer transport distances. For some sites, such as the Mesquite Regional Landfill in Imperial County, rail transport is an efficient means to transport refuse to remote disposal sites. Transitioning to remote disposal of refuse that involves rail transport requires that new infrastructure be developed. This concept of rail transport of refuse, which includes an integrated system of local and remote infrastructure, is called “Waste-by-Rail.” Click for Video >> Regional System The Sanitation Districts have taken the lead role in implementing the Waste-by-Rail System, a remote disposal program for Los Angeles County. The Waste-by-Rail System will provide long term disposal capacity to replace local landfills as they reach capacity and close. The starting point of the Waste-by-Rail System will be materials recovery facilities (MRFs) or transfer stations located throughout Los Angeles County. Residual waste from the MRFs or transfer stations will be transported via rail to remote landfills for disposal. In-County MRFs and Transfer Stations Click on image for a larger view. MRFs and transfer stations are owned and/or operated by both the public and private sectors. As can be seen in the map above, these facilities are located throughout Los Angeles County. Refuse collection trucks would deliver their loads to MRFs/transfer stations where the waste would be processed for the recovery of recyclable materials and inspected for the presence of hazardous waste or other unacceptable materials. The residual waste would be loaded into rail-ready shipping, or “intermodal”, containers. Local Rail Yard (or “Local Intermodal Facility”) Click on image for a larger view. The rail-ready shipping containers would be delivered to a local rail loading facility by truck where the containers would be loaded onto rail cars. Empty intermodal containers would be removed from the rail cars and loaded onto trucks to be transported back to the MRFs/Transfer Stations. Rail Transport A train will transport the containerized waste on the rail cars to a remote landfill and back using existing rail lines. Remote Rail Yard (or “Remote Intermodal Facility”) This facility would allow unloading of loaded containers from the train to trucks for transport to the landfill. In addition, empty containers would be placed onto the train for transport to the local rail yard. Ideally, the rail yards would be located at the remote landfill and be connected by a rail spur to the railroad mainline. Click on image for a larger view. Waste-by-Rail Landfills Within California, there are two landfills that are designed and permitted to receive waste via rail: the Mesquite Regional Landfill in Imperial County and the Eagle Mountain Landfill in Riverside County. In August 2000, the Sanitation Districts entered into purchase agreements for both of these sites. Both sites are located approximately 200 miles east of Los Angeles along the Union Pacific Railroad. The intermodal containers would be transported to one of these landfills where the waste would be unloaded and disposed. Local Infrastructure The local components of the waste-by-rail system will be comprised of MRFs/transfer stations and intermodal rail yards. The Sanitation Districts own and operate the South Gate Transfer Station, Puente Hills MRF and the Downey Area Recycling and Transfer Facility (DART). These MRFs/transfer stations provide waste diversion and publicly owned transfer capacity for Los Angeles County. Additionally, these facilities help Los Angeles County meet the 50% diversion rate required under California Law while providing for cost effective transfer of solid waste to landfills using transfer trucks and eventually rail. The Sanitation Districts are pursuing the development of a dedicated intermodal yard located in close proximity to the Puente Hills MRF. Downey Area Recycling and Transfer Facility The Downey Area Recycling and Transfer Facility (DART) is currently in operation accepting over 1,000 tons per day  of refuse and curbside recyclables. The facility is permitted to accept up to 5,000 tons per day of municipal solid waste. The processing line at this facility is designed to recover materials from curbside recyclables including paper, cardboard, plastics, and aluminum and tin cans. Puente Hills Materials Recovery Facility The Puente Hills MRF began operation in July 2005 at 500 tons per day. The facility will ramp up, as needed, to its permitted capacity of 4,400 tons per day when the waste-by-rail system begins operation in 2011/2012. The initial 500 tons per day processing line will focus on fiber recovery such as cardboard and paper. If the recycling market and economies warrant it, more lines will be added in the future. Intermodal Yard Operation The Sanitation Districts are pursuing the permitting and construction of a dedicated intermodal yard near the Puente Hills MRF. A dedicated yard in close proximity to the Puente Hills MRF would allow the construction of a dedicated access road from the MRF to the yard facilitating loading rail capable containers with heavier loads than permitted on public streets and reduce potential traffic impacts to local streets by allowing intermodal-related truck traffic to avoid public streets. The intermodal facility would be designed to handle up to 2 trains per day, or approximately 8,000 tons per day of refuse. The intermodal facility would have capacity to receive rail ready shipping containers from other materials recovery facilities in addition to shipping containers of residual waste from the Puente Hills MRF. Remote Regional Landfills The Mesquite Regional Landfill is located on 4,250 acres of land in Imperial County. The Mesquite Regional Landfill is fully permitted to accept residual solid waste transported from Southern California communities by rail. The approved landfill footprint of 2,290 acres will provide capacity for approximately 600 million tons of solid waste and 100 years of operation at a maximum of 20,000 tons per day. The Sanitation Districts completed the purchase of this facility in December 2002. The Sanitation Districts expect the landfill to be in operation by 2009. Eagle Mountain Landfill The Eagle Mountain Landfill is located on 4,643 acres of land in Riverside County. The Eagle Mountain Landfill has a total capacity of 708 million tons allowing the facility to operate for over 100 years at a maximum of 20,000 tons per day. The landfill footprint will eventually encompass 2,164 acres of the property. The Eagle Mountain Landfill is fully permitted to receive residual solid waste by rail from Southern California. However, the purchase of Eagle Mountain Landfill by the Sanitation Districts and its eventual operation are contingent upon successful resolution of pending federal litigation.