LAUREL CANYON—I saw someone’s construction trash nearby. It’s probably from a neighbor since I doubt a workman drove the junk from the other end of the city to dump it in our neighborhood. Why’s it tossed by the road?  Do you really save money by not dealing with this kinda trash upfront? You’ll eventually pay to get it hauled to the dump.  You’ll just pay higher taxes because a city truck has been called out to pick it up.  Which is cheaper?  Who’s to blame? We’re responsible for what our workmen do. Don’t turn a blind eye and pretend you don’t know. The fine for dumping is $10,000. You’d better hope this stuff can’t be tracked back to you.

I went on the hunt for some answers and was surprised by what I found. There are some easy ways to deal with this kind of trash without resorting to dumping by the side of the road. You can load up your trash cans with as much as 150 pounds of trash. If you occasionally generate extra trash you can order extra capacity tags [non-refundable] for $2 each. They’re sold in packages of five, and the limit is 25 tags per household per year. You attach the tags to bundles [4 feet or less in length] or a 30-gallon non-city issued container. City sanitation drivers will collect the tagged items. Order tags by mail at 11050 Pendleton St., Sun Valley, Calif. 91352 or call 800-773-2489.

The city offers a once a year free brush collection. Bundle it all up – tie it up - no longer than 4 feet long and no heavier than 30 pounds. Call 800-773-2489 to schedule a pick up.

Larger trash issues can also be solved.  I’ve assembled some useful information and contacts. LA has no public dumps, they are all privately owned.  The closest to the Hollywood Hills is Waste Management (near downtown) Mission Road Recycling & Transfer Station/Waste Management, Inc. 840 S. Mission Road, Los Angeles, Calif. 90023, 323-262-9699 or go to wm.com. They’ll take your construction rubbish, weigh it and charge you $40 for less than 1,000 pounds when your workmen drive there. They’ll give your workman a receipt. So if you give a hoot, don’t pay more than the cost of 10 miles in gas and $40. Withhold the last 10 percent of the job price until you get this receipt and are otherwise pleased with the work.  "No dump ticket, no money" should be our motto

The other alternative for larger jobs is to rent a Yard Bin. The closest one to us can be found at LADumpsterRental.com or call 888-378-2311. They charge about $135 for these small bins. They calculate the price based on mileage. If you don’t want to get a permit from the city for this bad boy put it on your property. Otherwise with a 10-day lead time log onto bsspermits.lacity.org, then navigate to Building Material and then to Property Owner. Fill out the application. Permit fees range from $64-$85. The dumpster company will also get you a permit if you ask—for a fee of course!

So if you want to do the right thing, you’ll add either $200 to your job, or $60, depending on which way you decide to responsibly dispose of your rubbish. Just how much does it just frost you when you drive by some else’s pile of construction trash dumped by your house?

Will you call the city to have trash hauled away if you see it? This is one thing the city has simplified. They have a website and a form. Go to ladpw.org and on the right side click on the Report a Problem link, and it will take you to the form. You don’t need to identify yourself to report the illegal dumping.

We all love the nature and scenery we live in here in the hills. We hate to see it marred by this urban blight. 

Do the Right Thing!

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