The future of curbside recycling in Portland

There has been quite a lot of media coverage on the plan to revamp Portland's curbside recycling program, so it was kind of a shock to meet so many people over the weekend that weren't aware that any changes are in our future. Renee and I had a dual EnviroMom and Master Recycler booth at Multnomah Days and met just a ton of people who were interested in green cleaners, hazardous waste disposal, recycling and many other green issues. We found ourselves explaining the recently-approved plan to many people, which is actually what we're trained to do as Master Recyclers! In a nutshell, here's what is ahead for residential curbside recycling (or click here for the actual plan):

In 2008-2009 residents will be given two rollcarts: one for yard debris (versus using your own container) and one for recycling. The items you can recycle will be increased to include plastic tubs and plant pots. Glass recyclables will still be kept on the side in a separate bin. The reason they are moving to these rollcarts is to both simplify recycling for residents (no more sorting) and because they will use different trucks to collect recyclables (the kind with the claw that dumps the rollcart versus workers doing the heavy lifting). Other changes will include more public recycling events (plastic round-ups, etc.), requiring haulers to communicate more effectively with their customers and developing emmission standards for garbage trucks.

In 2009-2015 Portland residents should see curbside food scrap composting added to garbage service. Food scraps will go in with yard debris (including meat and dairy, and possibly pizza boxes and paper towels!) and will be picked up once per week. Garbage will then be picked every other week. Cedar Grove, which turns yard debris and food scraps into compost for the Seattle area is scouting locations in Portland and will hopefully be up and running by 2009. Cedar Grove then packages and sells the compost back to area residents for use in landscaping! (Ah, the circle is complete.)

As the city gets closer to implementing the changes there will be a huge educational outreach, and we'll be hearing a lot more about these fantastic changes. Hooray!