The County began importing (out-of-County) solid waste and disposing the waste at its three active landfills in 1995, as a part of the County's efforts to generate revenues to pay bankruptcy related debt obligations. Importation waste tonnage is received under 10-year contracts with franchise waste haulers and continue through 2013 at the Olinda Alpha Landfill and 2015 at the Frank R. Bowerman and Prima Deshecha Landfills.

Under the County Bankruptcy Recovery Plan, the County anticipates receiving an estimated annual cash flow of $15,000,000 from importation revenues. To date, the County has received approximately $83.3 million of net importation revenues.

Importation waste revenues are also shared with the host cities of Brea, Irvine and San Juan Capistrano. Annual host fees of approximately $918,000 are distributed among the cities to pay for environmental impacts related to the transporting of importation waste to the landfills. Additionally, importation waste revenues also contribute to landfill closure and potential environmental remediation costs.

Mission Statement • General Information • Waste Management Commission • Financial Statement