WM to Discuss Recycling January 29

by Ilsa Perse & Susan Watkins

11/23/2012 7:08:08 PM

The next Waste Management pizza schmooze is this coming Tuesday, January 29, at the Senior Center, 2250 McDaniel Lane, McMinnville, at 7:00 pm.  Come earlier for pizza.

Think of what real recycling would mean, then tell Waste Management what you want to see at the new center.   WM claims to be the biggest recycling company in the country, if not the world.  Let's see them bring that expertise to Yamhill County.

In the meantime check out these amazing pictures of the dump, which were taken by a photographer under the direction of Jeff Lorton, a designer who runs his business out of Carlton:  http://www.slideshare.net/lynksnap/riverbend-dump.  (You may have to copy and paste the link into your browser.)  In case you don't know how really awful the dump is, these photos should help you get up to speed.

I hope everyone saw the amazing article this week in The Oregonian about the seismic issues and the planned wall on the west side of the dump.  If you missed it, here is the link: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/01/riverbend_landfill_expansion_c.html#incart_river (again, please copy and paste).

See you Tuesday!

WOW Flips Its Lid for Recycling

by Susan Watkins

Western Oregon Waste's recycling facility in McMinnville is now accepting plastic caps, lids, and bags!

Until recently, WOW found the market for plastic recyclables other than bottles and containers to be too unreliable to enable the company to invest space and effort in collecting marginal products like lids and plastic grocery bags.  But now Agilyx is up and running in Beaverton.

Agilyx converts plastics back into the oil it was made from.  Agilyx oil is refinery-ready -- the oil can be refined into any product crude oil can be used for.

With this market going strong, WOW feels comfortable collecting plastic items that once had to be tossed in the landfill.  WOW hopes to be able to expand its plastics recovery to include even harder to recycle materials like styrofoam.  Today, WOW's Darryl Funk estimates 65-70% of what we call "waste" can be recycled.

WOW also partners with St. Vincent de Paul to recycle old books.

To take advantage of these and additional recycling opportunities, haul your recyclables to The Recovery Zone, 2200 NE Orchard Avenue, McMinnville.

Carlton Asks Metro for $$

by Susan Watkins

The tiny City of Carlton lies right on Waste Management's garbage route -- the chain of roadways that huge garbage-hauling trucks follow day in day out en route from WM's transfer station in Forest Grove to Riverbend Landfill.  Carlton calculates that the heavy semis run through town, right down main street, 8,000 times a year.

The damage the big trucks cause is extensive.  Twice in the past few years the city has had to repair sewer and other pipes underneath the streets.

Now Carlton is asking Metro to pay.

Most of the waste that rides through town comes from the Metro area, not from Yamhill County.  The trucks use ODOT approved routes, which in this case means Hwy 47, right through downtown Carlton as well as two residential neighborhoods.  Pointing to a state law that authorizes monetary compensation for jurisdictions harmed by the collection of waste into regional facilities, the city asked Metro to contribute to its road repairs.

Although Metro has given no indication that it will act on Carlton's plea, the city's plight points up an unacknowledged side effect of Riverbend Landfill:  the impact on taxpayers.  Roads throughout the County, not just in Carlton, are affected; a major hauler to the dump is Pride, which runs down Hwy 99W.  Litter abounds.  Noise, odors, traffic, lights, vectors including birds and predators all impact residences and businesses in the dump vicinity as well as travelers on Hwy 18.  The County has failed to consider these costs when evaluating the dump's usefulness.  As the situation in Carlton shows, these costs add up.

Mini-Berm Still on DEQ's Plate

by Susan Watkins

11/23/2012 6:16:32 PM

Despite the community's insistence that DEQ require that the wall Waste Management wants to build on the Highway 18 side of the dump be built to withstand the looming 9.0 Cascadia earthquake, DEQ has not yet asked WM to meet that standard.  The wall (aka "mini-berm"), to be built of rock and dirt enclosed in wire cage "bricks," will be 40 feet high.  If built, the wall will allow WM to add an additional 1,000,000 tons of garbage to Riverbend, extending the dump's life 2-6 years.

DEQ follows standards that the engineering community now knows to be outdated.  Since the huge earthquake and devastating tsunami in Japan two years ago, scientists have realized that the subduction earthquake we are expecting any day now will be far stronger than previously estimated -- 5.5 times stronger, to be exact!

The Stop the Dump Coalition has hired internationally-known engineering firmKleinfelder to analyze data WM has submitted to DEQ.  Hopefully DEQ will listen to the experts and require any construction at the dump to meet known requirements -- or the entire landfill may slide in the South Yamhill River when the earthquake strikes.

Learn more about the definitely coming Cascadia subduction quake here.  Read about earthquake magnitudes here.

LUBA Disappoints: LUCS Allowed to Stand

by Susan Watkins

LUBA, Oregon's Land Use Board of Appeals, today dismissed an appeal filed by neighbors of Riverbend Landfill.  The appeal challenged a LUCS -- a land use compatibility statement -- issued by the County in support of Waste Management's application to construct a 40-foot-high wall on the Highway 18 side of the dump.

LUBA cited the County's approvals of the dump in 1980 and 1992 in ruling that Yamhill County did not have to hold a hearing to determine whether the landfill as it currently exists meets modern land use requirements.

Neighbors Ramsey McPhillips, Helen Pritchett, and Carl and Linda Bergstrom had argued that the dump was so different from what the County originally envisioned that new hearings should be held.

Unless the neighbors elect to appeal, LUBA's decision means Waste Management has one of the approvals it needs to construct the wall.  The company still needs DEQ's approval, which appears to hinge on the wall's earthquake stability.  If the wall is built, the dump will be able to take in another million cubic yards of garbage over 2-3 years.

Comment on this story by contacting Susan Watkins here; she will print your comments in a future article.

Air Quality Meetings Coming Up!

by Susan Watkins

The October and November "community" meetings staged by Waste Management will focus on air quality in the neighborhood of the dump.  Both meetings will begin at 7:00 pm at the McMinnville Senior Center on McDaniel Lane in McMinnville.

The meeting on Tuesday, October 23 is the semi-annual meeting required by the dump's DEQ Title V emissions permit.  Gary Andes from DEQ will attend to hear reports from the community about odor and other air emissions (such as wind-blown soil coming off the top of the dump).  Waste Management's PR rep, Jackie Lang, has been telling city councils and civic groups that the dump doesn't smell--neighborhood residents just can't tell the difference between landfill odors and rotting cabbage.  You can tell her how you feel about that at the meeting!

On November 27, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the Stop the Dump Coalition will present a report on air monitoring by Don Gamiles of Argos Scientific (http://www.argos-sci.com).  Don has volunteered to assist the community in assessing air quality in the dump vicinity and in communicating concerns to Waste Management.  Argos Scientific has extensive expertise in developing and enforcing "good neighbor agreements" between odor sources and their neighborhoods.  This should be an enlightening evening!

In the meantime, you can register your complaints or comments about odor and other air quality issues with DEQ (andes.gary@deq.state.or.us) or with Waste Management (855-888-6800).  See you at the meetings!

Radio Highlights Metro's Garbage Contribution

by Ilsa Perse

Carl Wolfson, host of 620 KPOJ AM's morning talk show, interviewed dump neighbor and activist Ramsey McPhillips and Pink Martini luminary Thomas Lauderdale about the damage Riverbend Landfill is to doing to Yamhill County.  The show, which aired on September 13th, also promoted Pink Martini's highly successful benefit concert for the Stop the Dump Coalition.

This is the first time there has been such a thorough airing of the issues to a large listening audience.  Wolfson found the discussion interesting enough to ask McPhillips and Lauderdale to stay on the show for a longer-than-scheduled interview in order to continue the conversation.

Even though the concert is over, Thomas Lauderdale continues to spread the word to residents, businesses, and officials in Portland and the Metro area about problems at Riverbend.  Hopefully, Wolfson will also continue to inform his audience about the serious issues a landfill on prime farmland on a river poses for western Oregon.  Contact Wolfson at carlwolfson.com to request more information!

Pink Martini Concert a Huge Success!

by Susan Watkins

On a perfect Sunday afternoon, 350 happy fans danced, sang, and swayed along with Pink Martini, China Forbes, and the Von Trapp great-grandchildren at Pink Martini's benefit concert for the Stop the Dump movement.

Surprise guest puppeteer Basal Twist wowed the audience with an ethereal performance.

The concert, held at Youngberg Hill with its beautiful vistas overlooking the South Yamhill River Valley (and alas the dump), earned rave reviews from participants.  Many loyal Pink Martini fans thought they'd never attended a finer performance.

Youngberg Hill offered attendees its award-winning wines, Salt and Straw "farm to cone" creamery donated ice cream, and vendors The Chicken Coop and Bert's Chuckwagon offered yummy meals with a local flavor.

"VIPs" who donated extra funds to the cause mingled with members of both bands after the concert, dining on delicious Yamhill County-themed hor-d'oeuvres catered by Fred Ellis, a dump neighbor, and champagne provided by Youngberg Hill.

The generosity of Pink Martini's Thomas Lauderdale, a long-time Stop the Dump supporter, in proposing and promoting the concert, the enthusiastic willingness of Nicolette and Wayne Bailey of Youngberg Hill to host the event, and the tireless efforts of dump neighbor Ramsey McPhillips to organize everything, raised a substantial amount for our community movement.

Representative Earl Blumenauer pumped up the audience with a reminder that most of the garbage that bloats Riverbend Landfill is not generated locally.  Wherever we hail from, we can cut waste and ask our officials to keep trash off farmland and out of river basins.

Waste Not and the entire Stop the Dump Coalition extend our deepest gratitude to Thomas, China and the rest of Pink Martini, Basal, the Von Trapps, Rep. Blumenauer, and Wayne and Nicolette for their generosity and contagious enthusiasm!

Regarding Waste Management's Proposed 40' Mini-Berm

by Bob Zahniser

Well, as I look around I'm reminded of how many majestic mountains (Mt. St Helens, Mt. Hood, Mt. Ranier...) are visible nearby -  while McMinnville has nothing. That's right, nothing. A 40 foot berm isn't nearly high enough. Let Waste Management raise it even higher so people hundreds of miles away can look upon Mt. Trashmore and forever associate McMinnville with a mountain - of garbage.

I suggest we start a new movement called "Trash McMinnville" and demand an ever-rising berm. Let the current addition (the lower 40) be just the start of our rise.

TRASH MCMINNVILLE! 

In place of Turkeyrama we could have Garbage Days - dump truck races, 'Guess the Smell' games, street performers juggling garbage and talking trash...

TRASH MCMINNVILLE!

We could even come up with a new slogan like "Follow your nose to McMinnville, America's Dump."

During Garbage Days the Gallery Theater could do special performances of 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and Third Street Pizza could run continuous showings of Steve Martin's 'Roxanne'.

I strongly suspect the Waste Management would be more than willing to make this proposal a reality.

If you think this is a GREAT IDEA, contact everyone you know and tell them we need their help to TRASH MCMINNVILLE!!!

The Latest Expansion Plan

by Susan Watkins

4/30/2012 8:51:39 PM

9/7/12 at 2:32:06 PM

Waste Not and the Stop the Dump Coalition are not giving up.  But neither is Waste Management.

For four years, we have been trying to persuade Waste Management to close Riverbend Landfill on schedule when it reaches capacity in 2014.  But Waste Management (WMI) continues to devise new schemes to keep the landfill open.

In 2008, WMI convinced the County planners and Board of Commissioners (over the Planning Commission's objection) to approve a plan that would have quadrupled dump capacity.  The new Mount Trash would have dwarfed downtown Portland!  We successfully sidetracked that effort, but WMI came roaring back.

Last September, WMI and the Board of Commissioners amended the County Zoning Ordinance (again over the Planning Commission's objection) to allow landfills on Exclusive Farm Use lands -- the best farm land in the United States.  But given the huge volumes of waste WMI imports from Portland Metro and other parts of the state, the dump will fill up before the 60-acre expansion WMI wants can be engineered and approved by DEQ.

So WMI proposed to build a wall, called a "mechanically stabilized earth" berm, around most of the dump.  This 40-foot-high wall would enable WMI to keep Riverbend open long enough to get permits for the expansion it really wants.

The trouble was, part of the proposed berm would encroach into the floodway of the South Yamhill River, a no-no under federal law.  So WMI took that berm off the table and replaced it with a "mini-berm" proposal -- a wall on the Highway 18 side of the dump.

If approved, the mini-berm will keep Riverbend open until 2018 -- long enough to prepare plans for the big expansion that would keep trucks rolling through our small towns for another 25 years.

We are fighting the mini-berm at DEQ right now (fall 2012).  DEQ would have approved it long ago if not for courageous and knowledgeable neighbors who pointed out that the dump sits on soils that are likely to liquefy in the next big earthquake.  With funds donated by supporters like you, Waste Not has hired engineers to investigate the earthquake stability of the berm.  We are also funding a lawsuit by neighbors of the dump who were never notified by Yamhill County of its intent to approve the berm.

Thanks to your vocal support at WMI's "community meetings" and your letters to officials and the newspapers and of course your donations, we will keep fighting.

Close Riverbend Landfill!  Stop the Dump!

Waste Management Stewardship Committee Update

by Susan Watkins
 
Earlier this summer, Waste Management asked local residents and business owners to join a "Stewardship Committee" to advise Waste Management about appropriate uses of lands surrounding Riverbend Landfill.

Though the committee takes its work seriously, it's unclear how much deference WMI will give to the group's decisions. Three committee members are paid by Waste Management. Moreover, WMI has told the committee that it retains the right to reject the committee's recommendations, and, moreover, that WMI has no intention of funding any of the proposals, even if approved!

So why did WMI create this committee? For the same reason it holds monthly "community meetings" (fourth Tuesday of each month, usually at the McMinnville Senior Center) and that it touted a new design for the dump's recycling area with great fanfare last winter: to distract us from their real purpose, ie, to expand Riverbend Landfill onto an adjacent 60 acres of farmland, keeping the dump open and the big trucks rolling through our small towns for another 25 years.

That said, some real good may come from the Stewardship Committee. At the committee's September 6, 2012 meeting, farmer Clarke Ellingson spoke eloquently about his role as a local farmer who knows the land around the dump and then offered a BRILLIANT suggestion: to offer the land for rent/lease to YOUNG (new generation) farmers, who would have to submit a business plan to qualify. According to Clarke, young people can access capital for farming; however, they cannot access land because land is too expensive for them to purchase. Clarke was given this same opportunity when he was young and he made a lifetime career from that generous beginning.

Waste Not member Susan Meredith, who serves on the Stewardship Committee, quickly embraced this idea. Said Susan, "If WMI doesn't want to farm the land, they should sell it to someone who will!"

Landfill neighbor Ramsey McPhillips, a former Waste Not board member, offered yet another option: In exchange for closing Riverbend Landfill, he would donate land to build whatever the community wanted. With the landfill closed, even the 60-acre parcel WMI has set aside for expansion could stay in farming.

The next Stewardship Committee meeting has not yet been set; we will post the date and time when available. The public is welcome, and there is an opportunity to address the committee.