A facility that Long Beach has used to burn hundreds of tons of trash daily for the past 35 years is expected to be decommissioned in the coming weeks, which will require the city to divert its trash to landfills — a process that is generally more costly.
Since 1988, The Southeast Resource Recovery Facility (SERRF) has converted the city’s trash into to electricity. The facility had processed waste for nearly 150 jurisdictions but had become the target of environmental advocates who said it was creating toxic pollution for nearby homes .
It’s unclear if the decommissioning of SERRF will lead to more rate increases for residents but the city generally charges the “cost of service” for city services and utilities. T he cost of transfering trash to landfils has been higher in the past during times when the facility was out of service.
In recent years, the facility has been dogged by a growing repair bill and state legislation that stripped the facility of the recycling credits that Long Beach and others received for burning its trash.