LOS ANGELES : Plastic Bottles to Be Used as Liner for City Dump

In a move to make use of thousands of discarded plastic bottles collected by the city’s recycling program, Los Angeles officials have directed a private contractor to use them in making a protective liner under the Lopez Canyon dump above Lakeview Terrace.

The project to protect ground water beneath the dump will absorb about 800,000 of the two-liter beverage containers that the city collects in its residential curbside recycling program, according to a spokesman.

The arrangement reflects a continuing quest to find adequate markets for a flood of recyclable materials, which has been the Achilles heel of recycling programs. Curbside recycling is a centerpiece of local efforts to comply with a state law requiring a 25% reduction in landfill dumping by mid-1995.

Under a program being implemented in stages, the city is collecting recyclables from 440,000 of the 720,000 Los Angeles households that are eventually to be covered.