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.