Our coalition has adopted 4 principles:

1. Marin Must Ban Green and Organic Waste from the Dump, and Convert it to a Resource in a Manner that Reduces Greenhouse Gas.

2. Marin Must Insist on Strong Earthquake, Groundwater, and Flood Protections at the Dump.

3. Marin Must Adopt a Mitigation Fee to Discourage Out-of-County Waste, to Fund Zero Waste Initiatives, and to Pay for an Independent Monitor who Reports to the Community.

4. Marin Must Insist that a Real Financial Guarantee Replace Empty Corporate Promises for the Inevitable Toxic Clean-up.

Details on the Four Principles

1. Ban Green and Organic Waste from the Dump.

The Redwood Landfill is likely the largest emitter of man-made greenhouse gas in Marin due to the green and organic waste that is buried there every day. This results in methane gas emissions 22 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Almost half of what goes into the dump is green or organic waste, including what residents put into their green cans. This counts as “recycled” and is part of the County’s diversion rate although very little is turned into compost. In contrast, Sonoma County composts virtually all of its green waste. Marin must ban green and organic waste from being dumped.

2. Insist on Strong Earthquake, Groundwater, and Flood Protections.

Landfill experts agree that all dumps ultimately will fail to contain their pollutants. This will have dire consequences. Below sea-level, the Redwood Landfill sits in a floodplain between two major earthquake faults. It is no more than a few inches above groundwater in places, yet it does not have the bottom liner required of modern dumps. A leak of dump pollutants (“leachate”) would poison surrounding wetlands and wildlife and ultimately the Bay. The Landfill has already had at least one leachate spill of over 8 million gallons, and its old levees regularly need repair. Marin must require state-of-the-art environmental safeguards to protect the public.

3. Adopt a Mitigation Fee to Discourage Waste, to Fund Zero Waste Initiatives, and to Pay for an Independent Monitor who Reports to the Community.

Today the fees are as cheap to dump at the Redwood Landfill as anywhere else in the Bay Area. The County must adopt a fee to fund environmental programs, such as a resource recovery park as in Sonoma County. This should be part of a comprehensive Zero Waste strategy to reduce, reuse, and recycle. The fee must also fund an independent monitor, as in Alameda County, to assure that WMI is living up to its commitments. WMI has an unfortunate record of violations nationwide resulting in $84 million in fines and shared liability with other polluters for landfill cleanups in just the last six years.

4. Insist on a Real Financial Guarantee or Insurance to Pay for the Inevitable Toxic Clean-up.

California law requires WMI to pay only for “maintenance” costs for 30 years after the dump closes (now projected in 2016). This does not cover ongoing monitoring or post-closure clean-up in the event of a disastrous earthquake, flood, or sea-level rise due to global warming. A corporate IOU is not enough. We can’t let our kids and grandkids get stuck paying a massive clean-up bill.

For more information including how your organization can join our Coalition, send us an email by using the “Contact Us” link under Pages in the next column.

Members of the Green Coalition for Responsible Waste / Resource Management, include: Sierra Club Marin Group, Sustainable Novato, Sustainable San Rafael, Sustainable Petaluma, Sustainable Marin, Sustainable Fairfax, Friends of the Petaluma River, Madrone Audubon, The Bay Institute, Baykeeper, No Wetlands Landfill Expansion, Novato Democratic Club, Petaluma Tomorrow, Democracy for America, Green Builders of Marin, Friends of Novato Creek, Seniors for Peace, Grey Panthers of Marin, Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, Petaluma River Council, Daily-Acts, Democratic Central Committee of Marin, 6th AsseblyDistrict Democrate, Green Gate, Novato Live-Well Network.