The McMinnville City Council voted unanimously last Tuesday night to direct hauler Recology to divert city waste from Riverbend Landfill. Recology has proposed sending garbage from the City's residents and businesses to Headquarters Landfill in Washington State.
The new landfill will not need to expand in order to accommodate the extra garbage as it has a hundred years' capacity remaining. Riverbend is expected to reach capacity in mid-2019, according to landfill officials.
The change in destination comes with a rate increase, but the amount varies with the volume of waste a household has picked up each week. Residents can reduce the amount they pay by buying items with less packaging, reusing items, and recycling more, enabling them to use a smaller and cheaper waste container.
Recology can handle the change because earlier this year the City approved construction of a transfer station at its Orchard Avenue site. Recology can now transfer waste from city garbage trucks to semi trailers for the long haul to Washington. Previously the city garbage trucks went directly to Riverbend.
The new order will go into effect in January 2018.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
McMinnville Considers Diverting Waste from Riverbend
At 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 28th, the McMinnville City Council will hold a Public Hearing regarding a change to the way garbage collected from City residents and businesses is handled.
Under the proposed change, the City's waste hauler, Recology, will no longer take waste it collects in McMinnville to Riverbend. Instead, Recology proposes to haul the waste to Headquarters Landfill in Cowlitz County, Washington.
To comment on the proposal, one can attend the hearing at McMinnville Civic Hall, 200 NE 2nd Street, or email City Councilors and the Mayor ahead of the meeting. To find out who your Councilor is or to obtain their email addresses, go to https://www.mcminnvilleoregon.gov/citycouncil.
The change will require a proposed 10% rate increase, to take effect in January, 2018. A customer with a $22.00/month garbage bill (which is what at least one small business on Third Street pays) would see its bill rise to a little over $24 a month.
Moreover, as part of the City proposal, Recology would forego the CPI (inflation) rate increase normally due 2018, so the actual increase to customers will end up being somewhat less than the 10% projected.
The proposed destination dump, Headquarters Landfill, is owned by Cowlitz County, Washington. The County purchased the landfill from Weyerhaeuser in March, 2014, and proposed surrounding it with a community forest to buffer landfill activities from neighbors. At 380 acres, Headquarters is nearly 4 times larger than Riverbend and has about 100 years capacity.
At the time of purchase, the landfill was said to be "beautiful" and "well-kept" with no "bad smell." Moreover, the County was treating waste materials that contained hydrogen sulfide to further reduce odors. However, the landfill is in a watershed that drains into a lake, and nearby residents expressed concern about potential leaks.
Last month, Cowlitz County put the landfill up for possible sale due to changes in Washington State environmental laws that require reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Complying with new state rules could cost the County--which makes a profit of about $4million/year from landfill operations--up to $5million/year. Waste Management--of course--is one of those expressing interest in buying the landfill.
Under the proposed change, the City's waste hauler, Recology, will no longer take waste it collects in McMinnville to Riverbend. Instead, Recology proposes to haul the waste to Headquarters Landfill in Cowlitz County, Washington.
To comment on the proposal, one can attend the hearing at McMinnville Civic Hall, 200 NE 2nd Street, or email City Councilors and the Mayor ahead of the meeting. To find out who your Councilor is or to obtain their email addresses, go to https://www.mcminnvilleoregon.gov/citycouncil.
The change will require a proposed 10% rate increase, to take effect in January, 2018. A customer with a $22.00/month garbage bill (which is what at least one small business on Third Street pays) would see its bill rise to a little over $24 a month.
Moreover, as part of the City proposal, Recology would forego the CPI (inflation) rate increase normally due 2018, so the actual increase to customers will end up being somewhat less than the 10% projected.
The proposed destination dump, Headquarters Landfill, is owned by Cowlitz County, Washington. The County purchased the landfill from Weyerhaeuser in March, 2014, and proposed surrounding it with a community forest to buffer landfill activities from neighbors. At 380 acres, Headquarters is nearly 4 times larger than Riverbend and has about 100 years capacity.
At the time of purchase, the landfill was said to be "beautiful" and "well-kept" with no "bad smell." Moreover, the County was treating waste materials that contained hydrogen sulfide to further reduce odors. However, the landfill is in a watershed that drains into a lake, and nearby residents expressed concern about potential leaks.
Last month, Cowlitz County put the landfill up for possible sale due to changes in Washington State environmental laws that require reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Complying with new state rules could cost the County--which makes a profit of about $4million/year from landfill operations--up to $5million/year. Waste Management--of course--is one of those expressing interest in buying the landfill.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Riverbend Community Meeting Coming Up
Waste Management (WM), the Texas-based corporation that owns Riverbend Landfill, will hold a "community meeting" November 15 at Chemeketa Community College. The public is invited.
WM is required by the landfill's Title V Air Quality Permit to hold semi-annual meetings to inform the public about activities at the dump that affect our air. The McMinnville area has relatively clean air. This means, unfortunately, that industries like landfills are allowed to pollute it.
The waste decomposing at Riverbend emits a variety of gases. Some of these, like methane and carbon dioxide, are harmful to the environment (both methane and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases, with methane being about 20 times more damaging than CO2). Others, like hydrogen sulfide, contribute to Riverbend's horrible odor. Though hydrogen sulfide makes up only about 1% of the gas produced by landfills, it is the primary culprit behind a landfill's foul, rotten egg smell. Another chemical, sulfur dioxide, is toxic, with a pungent, irritating smell.
Riverbend captures methane to burn, converting it to electricity that is sold to McMinnville Water & Light. For decades now, the landfill has tried to reduce the odor by capturing more gas with wells and pipes embedded throughout the waste. Anyone who lives or works nearby (ie, within, say two-plus miles) or who commutes past the dump knows how well Riverbend's efforts have worked: not at all.
In fact, Riverbend's odor is so bad that the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is currently investigating it. Yet, the landfill is about to begin installation of "additional gas collection infrastructure," which requires excavation of existing waste cells, allowing even more odor-producing gas to escape.
Come to the meeting to find out how WM plans to "control" odor this time! Bring your questions about other topics, too, including seagulls (yes, they are back!), the vertical expansion that DEQ just approved (the one that will add a year's worth of waste to the top of the original unlined, non-seismically engineered cells), the recent leak from the leachate holding pond, and so much more!
Title V Community Meeting
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, at 7:00 PM (come at 6:00 for pizza and chitchat!)
Chemeketa Community College
Building 1, Room 105
288 NE Norton Lane
McMinnville, OR 97128
WM is required by the landfill's Title V Air Quality Permit to hold semi-annual meetings to inform the public about activities at the dump that affect our air. The McMinnville area has relatively clean air. This means, unfortunately, that industries like landfills are allowed to pollute it.
The waste decomposing at Riverbend emits a variety of gases. Some of these, like methane and carbon dioxide, are harmful to the environment (both methane and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases, with methane being about 20 times more damaging than CO2). Others, like hydrogen sulfide, contribute to Riverbend's horrible odor. Though hydrogen sulfide makes up only about 1% of the gas produced by landfills, it is the primary culprit behind a landfill's foul, rotten egg smell. Another chemical, sulfur dioxide, is toxic, with a pungent, irritating smell.
Riverbend captures methane to burn, converting it to electricity that is sold to McMinnville Water & Light. For decades now, the landfill has tried to reduce the odor by capturing more gas with wells and pipes embedded throughout the waste. Anyone who lives or works nearby (ie, within, say two-plus miles) or who commutes past the dump knows how well Riverbend's efforts have worked: not at all.
In fact, Riverbend's odor is so bad that the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is currently investigating it. Yet, the landfill is about to begin installation of "additional gas collection infrastructure," which requires excavation of existing waste cells, allowing even more odor-producing gas to escape.
Come to the meeting to find out how WM plans to "control" odor this time! Bring your questions about other topics, too, including seagulls (yes, they are back!), the vertical expansion that DEQ just approved (the one that will add a year's worth of waste to the top of the original unlined, non-seismically engineered cells), the recent leak from the leachate holding pond, and so much more!
Title V Community Meeting
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, at 7:00 PM (come at 6:00 for pizza and chitchat!)
Chemeketa Community College
Building 1, Room 105
288 NE Norton Lane
McMinnville, OR 97128
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