Nation's largest landfill closing in California

10/31/2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDUSTRY, Calif.  — The nation’s largest landfill, where 130 million tons of garbage has been dumped outside Los Angeles, is closing after more than a half-century of service.

The 630-acre landfill that served as a regional waste facility is shutting its gates today because a permit for the site, which is nearly filled, expires on Halloween.

The landfill has accepted more than a third of Los Angeles County’s trash and stands as high as a 40-story building.

Future garbage from the county’s 88 cities will be put on trains to an abandoned gold mine more than 200 miles away.

The landfill likely will be turned into a park that will connect to existing hiking trails.