Puente Hills Landfill was the largest landfill in the United States, rising high and covering . Originally opened in 1957 in a back canyon in the Puente Hills, the landfill was made to meet the demands of urbanization and waste-disposal east of Los Angeles. By the 1990s, the landfill became an artificial mountain visible around the San Gabriel Valley region. Puente Hills accepted four million tons of

waste Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste prod ...

in 2005. As of October 31, 2013, its operating permit was terminated and it no longer accepts new refuse. The former landfill is in the process of becoming a natural habitat preservation area. The landfill is located in the

Puente Hills The Puente Hills are a chain of hills, one of the lower Transverse Ranges, in an unincorporated area in eastern Los Angeles County, California, in the United States. The western end of the range is often referred to locally as the Whittier Hills. ...

, in southeastern Los Angeles County near Whittier,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and is owned and operated by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County. The closest urban communities are unincorporated

Hacienda Heights Hacienda Heights () is an unincorporated suburban community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the community had a total population of 54,038, up from 53,122 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the ...

to the east, and unincorporated Avocado Heights and the City of Industry to the north.

Gas to energy

15 m³/s of

landfill gas Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane ...

created by the landfill is funneled to the Puente Hills Gas-to-Energy Facility, which generates more than 40 MW of power.

Recycling

At the base of the former landfill is a modern recycling facility. The facility is operated with the intent to recover and divert recyclables and combustible material.

Habitat and park

The Puente Hills Landfill offers tours. The Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation Authority directs the acquisition, restoration, and management of open space in the Puente Hills for preservation of the land to protect the biological diversity and provide opportunities for outdoor education and low-impact recreation. In 2022, the county approved funding for the Puente Hills Regional Park on .

In popular culture

The landfill has gained some popular attention.

Penn and Teller Penn may refer to: Places England * Penn, Buckinghamshire * Penn, West Midlands United States * Penn, North Dakota * Penn, Oregon * Pennsylvania ** Penn, Pennsylvania * Penn Lake Park, Pennsylvania * Penn Township (disambiguation), several muni ...

visited the landfill in an episode of their television program '' Bullshit!'' to assess the validity of

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

, and the television documentary series ''

MegaStructures ''Megastructures'' is a documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel in the United States and the United Kingdom, Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, France 5 in France, and 7mate in Australia. Each episode is an ed ...

'' focused on the landfill in the episode "Garbage Mountain".MegaStructures - National Geographic Channel. Garbage Mountain: Puente Hills Landfill in Whittier, California. (2006 Video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41ry6k82Mrc

Edward Humes Edward Humes is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and non-fiction writer. Biography Humes was born in Philadelphia and attended Hampshire College. In 1989 he received the Pulitzer Prize for specialized reporting for investigative stories he wr ...

discusses the landfill extensively as a core part of his book ''Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash''.

References

External links