Council backs pilot of underground waste containers; estimated cost and funding gaps discussed

The Los Angeles City Council supported launching a pilot program to test underground waste containers manufactured by a vendor described in the presentation as North Engineering, directing staff to negotiate a contract and to identify financing. The pilot would deploy underground containers in public housing and park sites and test operational and maintenance outcomes.

Vincent Chao, introduced as an environmental engineer associated with the project, and other LA Sanitation staff presented the technology, described how the containers operate and showed a demo video. The proposal initially described an offer to loan 200 underground containers with a larger potential purchase option; after negotiation presenters described a reduced-scope pilot focused on 54 underground units serving three-stream collection (blue/green/black) with a lowered cost estimate.

Staff described two recommended site types for the pilot: public housing complexes (close to residences and food-waste generation but constrained for vehicle access) and public-use sites such as parks (more space but less consistent waste generation). The presentation identified San Fernando Gardens, Nickerson Gardens, Pueblo del Río and McCarthy Parker Park as proposed locations and said six additional sites remain to be selected.

Presenters walked through cost estimates. Under an earlier offer the total program cost was cited near $7.8 million; a revised proposal narrowed the pilot scope and reduced the expected cost to roughly $6.7 million. After accounting for outside contributions, grants and vendor-provided units, the net cost reported to the council for LA Sanitation’s portion was about $3.8 million; staff said other contributions would cover roughly $1.8 million. Separately, staff said they had identified a remaining construction funding gap (described in the presentation as approximately $3 million) that would need to be resolved before full deployment.

Councilmembers questioned maintenance responsibilities, operational benefits (odors, vermin reduction, aesthetics), implications for recycling and how the pilot would operate in narrow urban streets and multi-family properties. Presenters said vendor commitments during the pilot would include maintenance and that operational learning from the pilot would inform future scale decisions.

Councilmembers made and approved several motions and friendly amendments to: proceed with a pilot using the technology; instruct the Chief Administrative Officer in coordination with LA Sanitation and the City Clerk or Controller to identify financing; authorize staff to negotiate and execute a three-year agreement with the vendor subject to usual approvals; and direct staff to report back on progress and funding feasibility (including exploring grant opportunities). Council also requested a report on options for a smaller-scope pilot if funding is limited.

The motions and three friendly amendments were adopted and the report and pilot direction were approved by recorded vote with councilmembers present voting in favor; the staff presentation concluded.