The Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County (Sanitation Districts) are a group of special districts constituting a public agency that is responsible for wastewater and solid waste management for over 5 million people in Los Angeles County. The agency was formed by state law in 1923 and began providing solid waste management services in the mid 1950’s. The Sanitation Districts provide environmentally sound, cost effective service and, in so doing, take what others had thought of as waste and turn it into resources such as reclaimed water, energy, and recycled materials.
The agency is made up of 23 separate Sanitation Districts working cooperatively with one administrative staff. Each Sanitation District has a separate Board of Directors consisting of the mayor of each city within that District and the Chair of the Board of Supervisors for county unincorporated territory. The agency’s service area covers approximately 800 square miles and encompasses 78 cities. The Sanitation Districts’ overall wastewater and solid waste management budgets for 2013 - 2014 are $543 million and $134 million, respectively. Both systems provide service to the customers at some of the lowest rates in the entire country.
The Sanitation Districts are unusual in that they own, design and operate many of their facilities. As a result, the agency is largely made up of engineers and other technical personnel focused on providing long-term solutions and high quality operations.
The Sanitation Districts operate a comprehensive solid waste management disposal system that includes three active sanitary landfills, recycle centers, two transfer/materials recovery facilities, and three gas-to-energy facilities. In addition, the Sanitation Districts maintain three former sanitary landfill sites and participate in the operation of two refuse-to-energy facilities. Notable among these facilities is the Puente Hills Landfill, which is the largest operating landfill in the nation, and the Puente Hills Landfill Gas-to-Energy Facility, which uses landfill gas to produce enough electricity to power 70,000 homes.
The Sanitation Districts have a history of excellent operations and innovative practices. The process of collecting and turning landfill gas into power was largely pioneered by the Sanitation Districts. The Sanitation Districts also pioneered the beneficial reuse of green waste (e.g., yard trimmings) as alternative landfill cover.
Examples of awards received by the agency include:
• Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) Gold Excellence Award for the Puente Hills Materials Recovery Facility
• American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE)
Honor Award, Operations/Management Category–
Excellence in Environmental Engineering Competition for
the Puente Hills Landfill
• Consulting Engineers Association of California Grand Prize,
21st Annual Engineering Excellence Awards for the Palos
Verdes Gas-to-Energy Facility
• SWANA Excellence Award (>1,500 tons per day) for the
Puente Hills Landfill
• AAEE Grand Prize, Operations/Management Category–
Excellence in Environmental Engineering Competition for
the Commerce Refuse-to-Energy Facility
• Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award
for Innovation for the “Clean Fuels from Landfill
Gas” Program
• AAEE Grand Prize, Operations/Management Category–
Excellence in Environmental Engineering Competition for
Energy Resource Management
