Jaime Garcia, HASC Los Angeles vice president, testified last week before the Ad-Hoc Committee on Waste Reduction and Recycling for the City of Los Angeles regarding the city’s Waste Shed Proposal. The issue will affect as many as 45 hospitals located within the Los Angeles city limits.

The Ad-Hoc Committee approved the five-year notice for an exclusive franchise. The notice is the first step the City of Los Angeles needs to take as part of providing formal notification to the commercial sector (haulers and businesses) that the City intends to restructure the current waste hauler permit model and move toward some type of franchise structure. This issue will be referred to the Energy and Environment Committee for further discussion.

At the Ad-Hoc hearing, HASC voiced opposition to exclusive waste sheds for the following reasons:

• Based on the available information released by the Bureau of Sanitation, the proposed local ordinance may conflict with the Medical Waste Management Act.
• Exclusive Waste Sheds infringe on hospitals’ ability to contract with selected vendors that provide a service unique to hospitals. Aside from regulations, pricing and service are also considerations that can further narrow the number of haulers with which a hospital can contract.
• A single hauler cannot always handle the various waste streams that a hospital generates.

The Ad-Hoc Committee did direct the Bureau of Sanitation to work with hospitals, given the regulatory issues that govern their operation related to disposal of waste. The Bureau agreed, but was unwilling to provide hospitals with complete exemption.