If, like this writer, you have been waiting for the State Supreme Court to rule on Riverbend Landfill's expansion plans, well, you are still waiting. It's been over a year now, with no ruling in sight.
The issue, as you will recall, is how to interpret state law that requires the County to determine whether a proposed nonfarm project (like a dump) on high-value farmland will "significantly impact" area farming practices.
Yamhill County found that any significant impacts from Riverbend's proposed expansion could be mitigated by changes in some of those surrounding farming practices. In other words, the expansion's adverse impacts could be reduced if the farmers changed the way they farm.
Stop the Dump and other petitioners asked the Supreme Court to find that this is ridiculous. Mitigation steps should be taken by the nonfarm applicant, not by the farmers whose lands and livelihood are threatened by the proposed nonfarm development. Oregon courts have not ruled on this question before, so the Court's decision will have huge impacts across the state, potentially affecting a host of nonfarm uses like resorts and golf courses as well as landfills.
While we are waiting, however, there is a piece of exceedingly good news to pass on.
In November, Yamhill County voters elected a new face to the County Board of Commissioners: farmer Casey Kulla. Kulla is not expected to be the rubber stamp for Waste Management (Riverbend's Texas-based corporate owner) that his predecessor was. Kulla has shown a willingness to investigate ways of handling County waste that do not include a local dump. He is also interested -- as is current Commissioner Rick Olson -- in asking the County's Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) to expand its role in monitoring Riverbend and advising Commissioners.
SWAC could be asked to investigate safety and other issues at the dump that are unrelated to possible expansion and also to determine whether the current system of granting exclusive, on-going franchises to the companies that haul our garbage is the best solution for Yamhill County.
While everybody waits for Kulla to take his seat in January and for the Supreme Court to rule, garbage keeps flowing to Riverbend under a vertical expansion approved by the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) as a "modified final grading plan." Under that approval, Riverbend can reconfigure its slopes, but not expand its on-the-ground footprint. Stop the Dump and others have also sued to stop this "expansion." That case too is slowly winding its way through the courts.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Oregon's Recycling Dilemma: The NYTimes Has Noticed!
Remember when the New York Times reported that after the Big One hits, everything in Oregon west of I-5 will be "toast"? Well, the paper has done it again with a new report about our recycling conundrum.
In its May 29th issue, the Times reports that a whole lot of what we as garbage company customers think we are recycling is actually going into the landfill.
Some Oregon communities are advising customers to put items like plastic, glass, and paper in the trash. Others want customers to continue to recycle on the theory that if we stop recycling now, we won't start up again when (or if) the markets for recyclables pick up.
Very few, including local companies Waste Management and Recology, seem to be educating us about what can, and cannot, now be recycled.
A recent visit to the Recology recycling depot in Mac showed the same old signs along the walls, with no information posted at all about what Recology can or cannot actually recycle. When staff at the depot have been asked about particular items, they have in the past opined that #1 plastic is always recyclable along with containers that are shaped so that the top and bottom are different sizes. A little bit of food waste in a glass or plastic container is also OK, they've said.
At the same time, staff have also said No to clamshells, even though many are #1, and the Times lists yogurt containers -- think shape -- as no longer recyclable.
Dirty containers are also unacceptable, whether the right shape or material. Waste Management's Jackie Lang is quoted in the Times as asking customers to "Keep food and liquids out" by washing out food scraps.
In Seattle, customers must sort items into several bins (remember the famous Portlandia episode with all the little tiny bins?) or face a fine. All that sorting may help prevent the kind of contamination that has caused China to reject US recyclables. And in parts of the Bay Area, customers are asked to put all items that touched food (and are not cleaned afterwards) into a "compost" bin. Here we'd call that the "trash." While that particular bin may not actually make it to compost, it may well keep other recyclables clean.
We would like to see our local waste haulers do a lot more to educate us about what and how to recycle. No one (except maybe Waste Management) wants to see more of our used items end up in the landfill. But we need to know what and how to separate to make large-scale recycling possible again.
In its May 29th issue, the Times reports that a whole lot of what we as garbage company customers think we are recycling is actually going into the landfill.
Some Oregon communities are advising customers to put items like plastic, glass, and paper in the trash. Others want customers to continue to recycle on the theory that if we stop recycling now, we won't start up again when (or if) the markets for recyclables pick up.
Very few, including local companies Waste Management and Recology, seem to be educating us about what can, and cannot, now be recycled.
A recent visit to the Recology recycling depot in Mac showed the same old signs along the walls, with no information posted at all about what Recology can or cannot actually recycle. When staff at the depot have been asked about particular items, they have in the past opined that #1 plastic is always recyclable along with containers that are shaped so that the top and bottom are different sizes. A little bit of food waste in a glass or plastic container is also OK, they've said.
At the same time, staff have also said No to clamshells, even though many are #1, and the Times lists yogurt containers -- think shape -- as no longer recyclable.
Dirty containers are also unacceptable, whether the right shape or material. Waste Management's Jackie Lang is quoted in the Times as asking customers to "Keep food and liquids out" by washing out food scraps.
In Seattle, customers must sort items into several bins (remember the famous Portlandia episode with all the little tiny bins?) or face a fine. All that sorting may help prevent the kind of contamination that has caused China to reject US recyclables. And in parts of the Bay Area, customers are asked to put all items that touched food (and are not cleaned afterwards) into a "compost" bin. Here we'd call that the "trash." While that particular bin may not actually make it to compost, it may well keep other recyclables clean.
We would like to see our local waste haulers do a lot more to educate us about what and how to recycle. No one (except maybe Waste Management) wants to see more of our used items end up in the landfill. But we need to know what and how to separate to make large-scale recycling possible again.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
No More "Wishful" Recycling
With China cracking down on the contaminants it will accept in recycled materials, we must all reconsider what we place in the recycling bin.
As the News-Register recently reported, the era of "wishful recycling" is over.
Our waste handlers tend to bundle materials together and let subcontractor recycling specialists sort the "good" recyclables from the "bad" waste. To make a profit, the sorters need to work quickly, which is great when the correct items have been placed in the right bin.
Food waste in a paper bin can cause the entire bin to be landfilled rather than recycled. "Compostable" materials run through a recycler can foul up the machine. Ditto plastic bags.
Waste Management lists acceptable recyclables on its website, http://www.wmnorthwest.com/yamhillcounty/recycling.html. Most of these items are illustrated in a colorful poster:
We are checking with Riverbend to see if this same list of materials can be recycled there.
Recology has a slightly different list. For example, Recology will not accept milk cartons. A good list of items Recology will recycle has been issued by the Del Norte, California, Recology, and published by the Del Norte Triplicate at http://www.triplicate.com/news/5009356-151/recology-solid-waste-trying-to-keep-garbage-out.
Locally, Zero Waste McMinnville also frequently runs items on their blog about acceptable recyclables. Check them out before you toss that "wishful" recycling item in your cart!
As the News-Register recently reported, the era of "wishful recycling" is over.
Our waste handlers tend to bundle materials together and let subcontractor recycling specialists sort the "good" recyclables from the "bad" waste. To make a profit, the sorters need to work quickly, which is great when the correct items have been placed in the right bin.
Food waste in a paper bin can cause the entire bin to be landfilled rather than recycled. "Compostable" materials run through a recycler can foul up the machine. Ditto plastic bags.
Waste Management lists acceptable recyclables on its website, http://www.wmnorthwest.com/yamhillcounty/recycling.html. Most of these items are illustrated in a colorful poster:
Recology has a slightly different list. For example, Recology will not accept milk cartons. A good list of items Recology will recycle has been issued by the Del Norte, California, Recology, and published by the Del Norte Triplicate at http://www.triplicate.com/news/5009356-151/recology-solid-waste-trying-to-keep-garbage-out.
Locally, Zero Waste McMinnville also frequently runs items on their blog about acceptable recyclables. Check them out before you toss that "wishful" recycling item in your cart!
Friday, April 6, 2018
Title V Meeting Set for April 19
Riverbend
Landfill's Title V Air Quality permit requires Waste Management to hold a
"community meeting" twice yearly. The next one has just been
scheduled, for Thursday, April 19, at 7:00 pm at Chemeketa Community College in
McMinnville.
Usually these meetings consist of a list of steps Waste Management has taken to reduce emissions and odor from the landfill -- always failed steps, as it turns out. (Have you driven past the dump lately? Pee-yoo!) Then dump managers tell us what they plan to do in the next few months to produce more odor, like open up old cells either to add additional waste or to install new wells, which are supposed to (but never do) reduce odors.
One item we'd love to see on the agenda is the result of the year-long odor survey undertaken by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 2017. Specially trained members of DEQ's staff visited the dump and surrounding neighborhood several times during the year to measure the presence and intensity of odors.
Once those measurements are gathered, staff analysts at a DEQ lab must examine the data with respect to other factors such as local wind patterns, according to Claudia Davis of DEQ's Air Quality division. DEQ will also contact Riverbend for its input. If DEQ staff then believes the existing odor might amount to a nuisance, it forwards its information to a Nuisance Odor Panel comprised of DEQ senior or executive managers who will decide whether to issue Riverbend a "Notice of Suspected Nuisance."
The Panel is supposed to issue its evaluation within three weeks after receiving the request for review. If the Panel finds a possible nuisance, DEQ will ask Riverbend to enter into a "best practices" agreement to reduce odors.
This has always been the sticking point with odors at Riverbend: whether there are "practices" Waste Management can implement that would reduce the smell. There's one obvious solution, of course: Stop taking waste that smells!
Please come to the meeting to share your opinions with Waste Management!
Usually these meetings consist of a list of steps Waste Management has taken to reduce emissions and odor from the landfill -- always failed steps, as it turns out. (Have you driven past the dump lately? Pee-yoo!) Then dump managers tell us what they plan to do in the next few months to produce more odor, like open up old cells either to add additional waste or to install new wells, which are supposed to (but never do) reduce odors.
One item we'd love to see on the agenda is the result of the year-long odor survey undertaken by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 2017. Specially trained members of DEQ's staff visited the dump and surrounding neighborhood several times during the year to measure the presence and intensity of odors.
Once those measurements are gathered, staff analysts at a DEQ lab must examine the data with respect to other factors such as local wind patterns, according to Claudia Davis of DEQ's Air Quality division. DEQ will also contact Riverbend for its input. If DEQ staff then believes the existing odor might amount to a nuisance, it forwards its information to a Nuisance Odor Panel comprised of DEQ senior or executive managers who will decide whether to issue Riverbend a "Notice of Suspected Nuisance."
The Panel is supposed to issue its evaluation within three weeks after receiving the request for review. If the Panel finds a possible nuisance, DEQ will ask Riverbend to enter into a "best practices" agreement to reduce odors.
This has always been the sticking point with odors at Riverbend: whether there are "practices" Waste Management can implement that would reduce the smell. There's one obvious solution, of course: Stop taking waste that smells!
Please come to the meeting to share your opinions with Waste Management!
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Yamhill County Alerts!
Worried about the Big One? Fretting over fire? Mudslides? Road closures? Zombie apocalypse?
Don't be left in the dark! Yamhill County will now ALERT you about emergencies that could affect your home, business, or family with warnings that come straight to your mobile or land line phone and email.
Recent Oregon state reports have highlighted the danger from "ordinary" (up to Magnitude 8.0 in Portland) and Cascadian subduction zone (M9.0!) earthquakes in western Oregon. We've all seen video of the destructive force of mudslides and fires in Washington and California as well as here in Oregon.
A few moments warning (which is about all we will get with an earthquake) can give people a chance to evacuate vulnerable buildings or to seek appropriate cover. Alerts and evacuation notices can also give us the chance to escape before a fire or landslide overwhelms our neighborhoods.
To get the alerts, you need to create an account with the County's provider, Everbridge, which you reach via the Yamhill County web page. You can include several phones on each account.
Here at the blog we often express concern about the harm a big earthquake will cause to the South Yamhill River when Riverbend Landfill collapses. That big quake will also affect a great many homes and businesses. The quake is overdue; it's time for us to ensure that we have three months' worth of food and water stored in a "safe," accessible area and that our personal "escape" backpacks (food and water, first aid, walking shoes and socks, blanket, change of clothes) are always ready to go.
The quake -- or the fire or the slide or even the zombies -- might not come in our lifetimes. Or they might hit tomorrow.
Give yourself a chance to be safe! Go to http://www.co.yamhill.or.us/emergency-management to sign up.
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