Director Rita Robinson discusses the Bureau of Sanitation's pursuit of a cleaner, greener, and landfill-free L.A.
"The task of dealing with some of Los Angeles' most unpleasant realities falls to the Bureau of Sanitation. Even while faced with growing amounts of waste, tougher and tougher federal and local environmental regulations, and constant public resistance to necessary projects, the L.A. Bureau of Sanitation engenders a sense of progress, cooperation, and success. In order to better understand this crucial city department's knack for dealing with unpleasant challenges, the Metro Investment Report was pleased to speak with Rita Robinson, director of the L.A. Bureau of Sanitation."
"One of the key projects that we're looking at is the diversion of the solid waste to renewable energy and green power by 2010. We released an RFP in February of this year from commercial facilities to be able to do 200 to 1,000 tons per day. That RFP is already out on the street, and the responses are due by August of this year. We've had a tremendous amount of interest in the initial RFP briefing. A number of companies are forming partnerships to make sure that they have a viable proposal to bring to the city."
"Our goal is to be a landfill-free city in the future. As we look out over our five-year plan, we continue to build in that vein. Some of the short-term things we're looking at: the city still has the legal authority to send bio-solids to Kern County even though there is a real impact on that community, so we're diversifying as much as we can..."
Thanks to James Brasuell
FULL STORY: L.A. Bureau of Sanitation Successfully Managing Mounting Waste Flow

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie