In the 1980s there were over thirty proposed garbage incinerators in California. By the middle of the decade all but four of them had been stopped thanks to the advocacy of organized citizens.
Now there are only two remaining plants after the close of the Commerce, CA facility in June 2018. After the plant lost two-thirds of its $0.11 per kWH energy contract with South California Edison, it struggled to maintain financial viability.
Despite a number of last ditch efforts, the Commerce facility was unable to generate enough revenue to keep the plant operating. These efforts included raising its tip fee to $84 per ton.
Check out excellent coverage of this issue from Cole Rosengren of Waste Dive.
