Nov. 11, 2008 — Construction at the Westwood garbage dump to convert the landfill to a transfer station is nearly complete. The target date for completion was scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 12 but rain and snow flurries slowed work down, said Tom Valentino, manager for the Lassen Regional Solid Waste Management Authority. He expects to announce the opening of the Westwood Transfer Station soon. “The significant change will be increased convenience,” said Valentino.

Residents will not have to deal with mud when dumping garbage because the roadways are asphalt and trash bins are on concrete slabs. The structure has a roof that will protect people using the facility from rain and snow.

The best news is there will be no rate increase, said Valentino.

Days of operation will change from Friday, Saturday and Sunday to Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. This will provide time to transfer garbage to Bass Hill so bins are available throughout the weekend.

The station has been designed to take a variety of hazardous waste items including electronic waste, oil and oil filters.

“We have an area to set up for household hazardous waste collection events and we are in the finishing stages of preparing our permits,” said Valentino.

He added that if all goes as planned the LRSWMA would hold a household hazardous waste collection in Westwood in the spring of 2009.

The decision to convert the Westwood Landfill to a transfer station was made at a meeting of the Board of Directors for the LRSWMA on Tuesday, May 27. At that meeting the board voted to accept the low bid for construction submitted by Dig It Construction of Chester after hearing public comments from Westwood residents.

The discussion and vote on the transfer station was a continuation of an afternoon board meeting held that same day in Susanville. The board reconvened at the Westwood Community Center at 7 p.m. to present the plans to Westwood residents and get their input before making a decision.

Those attending the meeting said they thought a transfer station would be beneficial to Westwood residents but voiced concern about the changes putting Bruner’s Garbage Service out of business because the facility setup could not accommodate commercial trucks. Owner Delva Huss shut the business down on Sept. 28 because she could not afford to haul garbage to the Bass Hill Landfill.

According to Valentino some landfill activities will still be available, such as dumping of asphalt and concrete or demolition debris. As a result Westwood will provide a backup landfill for Lassen County. Valentino said if Bass Hill had to be closed for any reason there would be about three years before he landfill reaches capacity in Westwood providing time to find another location.

The decision to convert the Westwood Landfill to a transfer station was based on a long-term cost analysis between the two, said Valentino. It was determined there would be significant savings. Although many factors contributed to the savings, one costly aspect of a landfill is the state and federal regulations on them that are becoming more stringent.

The total cost of the transfer station was about $600,000.