Quick summary of this post's points for those in a Major Hurry:
Bear eCycling in SE Portland is the latest local victim of the crashing recyclables market (they are closed as of last Saturday 12/13/08) We wish Oso well, and thank him for his valiant efforts in this area. (His progeny Free Geek is still going strong however, see below. And Far West can and does still take electronics).
The local and national market for recyclables is tanking along with the economy, BUT, you should not presume to know what can/can't be processed and divert things to them to the garbage/landfill vs recycling yourself. (It's better to let the processors and handlers take care of this - they are designed and economically motivated to keep as much out of the landfill as possible and will). I.e, keep using your local curbside/apartment recycling systems as usual (and correctly, no bags!) until your hauler or Metro actually tells you otherwise. Trust me, we'll know if/when that happens - it'll be on the news. Meanwhile, reduce!, reduce! reduce as much as possible (consumption), then reuse and recycle to help with this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Long version/narrative (for those with time to read more):
I was both excited and chagrined to wake up (late!) to a lively discussion of recycling in Portland on OPB's (91.5 FM) "Think Out Loud" onthe radio this morning (Monday 12/15/08), a locally produced show that discusses a variety of topics of local interest. This morning's discussion happened to be on the recent crash in the recycling market (local and national - and we are still doing much better of than other parts of the nation, btw), which confirmed a lot of my suspicions about what all we can and can't recycle just now, tho I confess I missed the first half, so do not have all my facts at hand just now. (I'm going to try to re-listen to it on their website, and paw through the ensuing blog discussion there as well to remedy this, but I'm running late already today, sorry). Thus, this update may well change or be amended later. However, the bottom line is:
We cannot recycle as much as before. HOWEVER, at least two of the guest speakers (including Jeff Murray at Far West Fibers) encouraged people to continue using their curbside recycling AS USUAL, and let the processors worry about the market end of things, and the fact that they may have to store and possibly at some point landfill some of the items. So I will third this suggestion, because you and I have no way to know or keep up with how they are handling the materials on a daily basis without literally working there, or calling them daily, which I'm not going to do, for both our sakes. (Mine, cuz I'd like to have a life, and theirs, because they have better things to do - like keep finding markets for this stuff - than to update you and me every day). So if you now throw away items that it turns out they HAVE found a market for despite what you may or may not have heard in the news, then it is causing things to go to the landfill that shouldn't. I promise, all of our processors and recyclers are as rabid as you and I are about keeping this stuff out of the landfill if at all possible. It's actually better for their bottom line. So let them do their job.
But, this leads back to my first and foremost recommendation during this downturn in all markets: REDUCE, REDUCE, REDUCE!!! Then REUSE, then recycle. As in, QUIT BUYING SO MUCH STUFF AND PACKAGING in the first place, especially plastic grocery bags. We just have to change our behavior. Yes, they make life seductively easy - that's the whole problem, like everything that's bad for either ourselves directly, or the environment (thus still bad for ourselves indirectly;), the "easy way" is always worse for us in the end. (Fast food, pharmaceuticals, driving gas cars, packaging, etc.). But I digress. My point being, it's now more crucial than ever to avoid buying plastic packaging as much as possible now. Yes, this is very hard for the average or "typical" (which is a loose term) modern American family who finds themselves scrambling to keep up with one or even two or more jobs plus kids, much less any kind of "life". Lucky me, I'm single, no pets, no kids, making it easier for me to research all this, and take the steps that are better for the environment (bringing my own reusable bags to the store, going out of my way to buy from farmers markets, or in bulk with my own containers, etc.) But I know that all my friends who have kids are lucky to just get junior fed and out the door in one piece or two at most sometimes even with all our modern conveniences, much less take time to go shopping for locally produced or sourced items, much less remember to bring re-usable containers and bags, etc. But, we gotta try. Iwill continue to try to source things for people in Portland toward that end and post it here as much as possible.
I wish to also re-emphasize that the curbside recycling still takes a limited subset of all the items that have been able to be recycled by Far West Fibers - our major local processor of recycled items, so please try not to contaminate it with the wrong things like plsatic lids, plastic bags, styrofoam, or actual garbage. This is due to how it's handled, since it comes in bulk co-mingled quantities now. All containers must be rinsed and empty with no lids, always, in this curbside system. All those lids and bags can be taken down and deposited separately at the Far West Fibers depots, though I recommend the SE 17th and Holgate depot the most based on my last post's dicoveries. It's all becuase of the handling - the curbside system uses compacting to mash all our co-mingled items together, which yes, then has to be sorted out later. This is why plastic bags are so bad in there - they cause it to get tangled up and snag on the sorting and handling equipment. This is also why small plastic items that are not bottles or tubs or made from different materials than #1 and #5 in the curbside recycling are also a problem - handling. (And remember they cannot take the new corn based plastics at all - they melt and gum up the works. These must still go in the garbage for now, sadly, so try to avoid them as much as possible. They are labeled "PLA" with or without a #7 also). Far West has separate bins for these items when you go to drop them off on your own at their depots. So please don't mix them in your curbside system, or that will reduce the already severly limited market for these even further by contaminating their loads.
I was also saddened to hear of the loss of Bear eCycling in our community - the electronics recycling depot run by Oso Martin, founder and former director of Free Geek in SE Portland. I actually heard him call in on the TOL program this morning letting us all know that he had to fold up shop as of last Saturday December 13 (an unlucky day, indeed) because of the severe crash in the market for the materials he was taking in. (He was having to pay to get rid of stuff, vs getting paid for them, ouch). Thus, we have lost one great resource for the electronics recycling we had before. And this is happening just as local laws and regulations are gearing up on January 1, 2009 to steer more electronics out of the landfill and toward local processors and recyclers (which we definitely still want to do!) However, Far West can and does still take these, as does Free Geek- who reuses a great amount of what they take in, benefiting the community with free or very low cost usable computers (totally refurbished with Linux, so no old Windows data floating around on them at all;). So please keep recycling your electronics there.
And yes, I have broken my initial vow with this post to always re-post who takes what at the bottom of this particular post just now. That's cuz I'm in a big hurry to get the word out on the above just now. I'll try to re-post this with an update on recyclers and sources a bit later. (Hopefully before I'm gone to NY next week for Cmas). But bottom line, reduce, reduce, reduce, then reuse, then recycle, to help with this issue. As someone on the Think Out Loud blog said, it's actcually much harder to avoid buying plastics right now than it is to be a "kosher vegan locavor" (I may not have that exactly right, but I think you get the idea;) just now. But we can try. Stay tuned for more, and happy holidays to all, meanwhile. Thanks - Jan
PS A little good nws - this system is working very well for my vermi-composting:
http://www.whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm
My worms are self-migrating into the upper bin just fine as I type this now - yay:).
Monday, December 15, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
URGENT UPDATE: No market for plastic bags now 11/18/08
As you may have seen in the news recently, the market for many recyclables is once again shifting and changing along with the economy - for the worse. Indeed I just got word by phone (Thu a.m. 11/18/08) from Jeff at Far West Fibers that while they are still accepting plastic film bags from the public, they no longer have a market for it, due to economic changes. So they are literally stuck storing them until and unless they find another market for them again. So, what can you do? Well, the obvious no-brainer is to use re-usable grocery bags at the store, and second to that, request paper. As some of you know, paper is not actually that much better for the environment because it actually uses a lot of precious water and some nasty chemicals in its manufacturing process, not to mention the original trees. And even recycled paper getting re-used is still very chemical and energy intensive. So... try as much as possible to re-use grocery bags. And, try bringing your own containers for buying items in bulk at places like New Seasons to avoid so much packaging in general. They give you a litte weight credit when you do to offset the small weight the conainer adds to your bulk item purchase. Not sure if Safeway and Freddy's do this, but you can try and see. (Can't see why not). I have found all those containers you get cookies and chocolate goodies in at Trader Joe's to be an excellent size and weight to buy things like almonds, flour, sugar, nuts, etc from New Seasons.
Jeff at Far West also confirmed that they can't really take the non-stretchy crinkly plastics either - so try to keep those out. (Alas, they must go in the garbage now). He said they are allowed a small percentage of contamination - or have been till now that is, but it's not really good. (That's why Portland Recycling Centers was saying they could take ALL plastic bags/film, even crinkly ones - they can't really, but were getting away with it). And as the market tanks, I imagine this becomes even more critical to avoid. And, all the grocery stores that take our plastic bags back also just send them to Far West:). So, guess what? Far West is it. And if they can't process this stuff and find a market for it, no one can. Boo hiss. Also, no one can take the metallic anti-static bags that electronics parts come in. Free Geek does re-use them as much as possible, but then has to throw them away in the end. It's because of the metal in them.
Further, I finally made it up to Porltand Recycling Centers this weekend in N Portland (corner of Denver and Rosa Parks Blvd), and learned that they are actually just a drop site for Far West Fibers (they have been for a while), who is actually buying them out next month. However, they package and manage the materials differently at their site, so they cannot accept quite all the same things that Far West does. They use a large compactor to smush all the same non-glass recyclables we currently put in our co-mingled curbside bins into giant bales that are then trucked to Far West's Hillsboro plant where it is sorted. So actually, all the OTHER rigid plastics that we have been able to recycle at the SE and other Far West Depots will just make that messy (this per Jeff just now). It has to do with the machinery on the other end that manages to sort it. So I would urge you to take all the smaller items (e.g. solo cups and lids, small bottle caps and the easily breakable polystyrene clamshell containers you get from delis' and restaurants) to one of Far Wests's actual drop off depots - SE Portland being the best (on SE 17th just off of Holgate), where it goes into its own bin that they can manage better, vs being co-mingled. (I haven't made it to any of their other sites, so can't speak fully to those yet, sorry).
I've also heard word that the Master Recycler's Plastics Roundups are also currently on hold for same reasons - no where to take the stuff once it's collected. So stay tuned for further word on that.
I am so keen on bringing the right things in the right form/conditions to the right place, because if we contaminate loads for our recyclers, their costs go up, and handling increases, and it will make it harder for them to stay in business as the economy tanks even further. Sorry it's such a pain, but consider that every bit we do to help will help keep these great businesses around. Once again, reduce, reuse - then recycle. But we can all start by reducing, first. Just try imagining no place for all this stuff to go. Cuz that's ultimately where we're headed. And operate accordingly. Happy Thanksgiving,
Jan Thu 11/18/08
Jeff at Far West also confirmed that they can't really take the non-stretchy crinkly plastics either - so try to keep those out. (Alas, they must go in the garbage now). He said they are allowed a small percentage of contamination - or have been till now that is, but it's not really good. (That's why Portland Recycling Centers was saying they could take ALL plastic bags/film, even crinkly ones - they can't really, but were getting away with it). And as the market tanks, I imagine this becomes even more critical to avoid. And, all the grocery stores that take our plastic bags back also just send them to Far West:). So, guess what? Far West is it. And if they can't process this stuff and find a market for it, no one can. Boo hiss. Also, no one can take the metallic anti-static bags that electronics parts come in. Free Geek does re-use them as much as possible, but then has to throw them away in the end. It's because of the metal in them.
Further, I finally made it up to Porltand Recycling Centers this weekend in N Portland (corner of Denver and Rosa Parks Blvd), and learned that they are actually just a drop site for Far West Fibers (they have been for a while), who is actually buying them out next month. However, they package and manage the materials differently at their site, so they cannot accept quite all the same things that Far West does. They use a large compactor to smush all the same non-glass recyclables we currently put in our co-mingled curbside bins into giant bales that are then trucked to Far West's Hillsboro plant where it is sorted. So actually, all the OTHER rigid plastics that we have been able to recycle at the SE and other Far West Depots will just make that messy (this per Jeff just now). It has to do with the machinery on the other end that manages to sort it. So I would urge you to take all the smaller items (e.g. solo cups and lids, small bottle caps and the easily breakable polystyrene clamshell containers you get from delis' and restaurants) to one of Far Wests's actual drop off depots - SE Portland being the best (on SE 17th just off of Holgate), where it goes into its own bin that they can manage better, vs being co-mingled. (I haven't made it to any of their other sites, so can't speak fully to those yet, sorry).
I've also heard word that the Master Recycler's Plastics Roundups are also currently on hold for same reasons - no where to take the stuff once it's collected. So stay tuned for further word on that.
I am so keen on bringing the right things in the right form/conditions to the right place, because if we contaminate loads for our recyclers, their costs go up, and handling increases, and it will make it harder for them to stay in business as the economy tanks even further. Sorry it's such a pain, but consider that every bit we do to help will help keep these great businesses around. Once again, reduce, reuse - then recycle. But we can all start by reducing, first. Just try imagining no place for all this stuff to go. Cuz that's ultimately where we're headed. And operate accordingly. Happy Thanksgiving,
Jan Thu 11/18/08
The latest on
Recycling in Portland
11/18/08
(Per the good people at Metro and Far West Fibers, who know what's up!)
ALL recycling systems require bottles, tubs and cans to be rinsed, empty, with no lids. And NO PLASTIC BAGS IN CURBSIDE/APARTMENT RECYCLING AT ALL . (Do not drop off bags of bottles or plastics in any recycling system. The bags gum up the works and cause loads to be tossed. Nor leave plastic bags or film mixed in, same problem). And currently, there isn't a market for plastic bag recycling actually, tho Far West is working hard on it as I type this. Also, NO CORN BASED PLASTICS either - #7 PLA. (Other #7's are okay, just not PLA or "made from corn". #7 just means "misc", that is not a 1-6).
In general our curbside/apartment recycling is rather limited. That's why I've researched and listed the other great outlets for recycling many more items than curbside can take. I.e, if in doubt, leave it out of your curbside system, and take it to one of the many facilities listed below (e.g. Far West Fibers, Portland Recycling, Total Reclaim, etc.) I've tried to make it as simple as possible.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Current Portland 2 bin Curbside/apartment Recycling CAN take:
(NO LIDS ON ANY CONTAINERS PLEASE, MUST ALL BE EMPTY AND CLEAN)
A) In separate glass bin only:
Only glass bottles and jars:must keep in separate bin from all other recyclables. Empty, clean, no lids. Also, no light bulbs, lamps, etc. Just clean empty jars and bottles from the kitchen. (Take fluorescent and high intensity flood light bulbs to Metro hazardous waste recycling centers. Normal light bulbs can apparently go to Total Reclaim in NE Portland according to Metro Oct 29, 2008. Call first to be sure).
B) In co-mingled rollout recycling bins:
Plastic bottles and tubs (no lids): bottles with a screw neck top, empty (clean) margarine or yogurt type tubs (No’s 1, 2 and 5 only). NO clamshell food containers (#6). AND NO OTHER PLASTICS WHATSOEVER. (E.g. toys, hangers, lids). All bottles and tubs must be clean, empty, NO LIDS. NO BAGS. (See below for where to take lids and other plastics). You can recycle empty laundry detergent bottles here.
Paper: Newspaper, magazines, and office paper and junk mail. (Envelopes with glassine windows are okay). NO NAPKINS OR TISSUES (this belongs in garbage, or compost). Please enclose shredded paper in a paper bag for ease of handling at facilities. (This is the only time you may contain something in any bag, and it must be paper). No foil lined paper. (e.g. metallic gift wrap).Staples okay. No paper clips. No food-contaminated or waxed containers either. (E.g. no frozen food boxes, or paper coffee cups with waxy insides. These can be composted under proper conditions but are too contaminated for normal paper recycling).
Steel and tin cans: (e.g. soup cans) clean, no lables, flatten as able, and tuck clean lids inside for safety. (I find squishing the top end of the cans with rounded bottoms to help in removing the label, and saving a little space). Clean aluminum foil also okay.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ALL OTHER RECYCLING:
Call Metro at 503-234-3000 or see www.metro-region.org to keep up on latest recycling outlets for MANY other items including STYROFOAM, ELECTRONICS, batteries and hazardous wastes (old paint, cleaners, fluorescent light bulbs)..
Far West Fibers takes virtually everything except styrofoam and hazardous wastes, and are one of the cheapest and easiest to get to. (Depot at SE 17th and Holgate). This includes ALL RIGID PLASTICS except styrofoam and now PLA #7 (corn-based plastics). (Other #7's okay). I.e, all the plastic lids, toys, hangers, clean clamshell food containers, other tubs, etc. that the curbside/apartment system does not take (except PLA:). Must be clean.
Styorfoam: Total Reclaim on NE 60th and Columbia - $5/car or truck load. Must be clean. Can take clean meat packaging trays. www.totalreclaim.com
Computers and related items (printers, scanners, mice, keyboards): Free Geek www.freegeek.org (SE 10th and Mill, just south of Hawthorne). Reasonable fees apply.
Televisions and electronics: Bear eCycling on SE 63rd just south of Foster (tucked behind the small nursery store) takes ALL ELECTRONICS EXCEPT anything with freon coolant like Fridges and AC's. Far West does take these. This includes TV's, microwaves, blenders, remotes, toasters, batteries, etc. Basically, if it runs, ran, or ran something electronically, he can take it. There are reasonable fees charged for handling all items. Call for more info: 503-788-2235. www.bearecycling.com. Run by Oso Martin, founder of Free Geek, and fellow rabid responsible elecronics recycler. (He keeps toxics from going overseas for improper disposal). Don't forget you can get a government coupon good for $40 off an analog to digital aerial TV converter box to upgrade old analong TV's if you can't afford cable or a new digital TV.
Find additional info and responsible recycling outlets at:
www.metro-region.org (see “Find a Recycler” under Garbage and Recycling links on left side)
www.farwestfibers.com (take all rigid plastics besides styrofoam, plus much more including books, DVD's and crayons. Separate curbside "quality" recycling from all else however for handling reasons.)
www.portlandrecyclingcenters.com (takes same as Far West Fibers, tho best to take smaller plastics that curbside doesn't currently take to the SE Far West Fibers depot to put in their bin allotte for same, vs the co-mingled baler at the N Portland recycling center. Probably goign to shut down they NW and Lake Oswego sites soon, when Far West takes them over, and may use them for storage vs drop off)
www.enviromom.com (has updates on many ways to reduce, reuse, recycle in Portland)
www.masterrecycler.org (has updates on periodic local Plastics Roundups in Portland area that take all but styro)
www.totalreclaim.com (takes styrofoam in NE Portland - yay:) $5/load
www.buyworms.com for a good local source of red worms for vermicomposting
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Reasons to avoid all #7 Plastics in general Nov 1
This isn't exactly recycling related, but may help encouraging reducing one's use of plastics. (Latest recycling source info included at bottom of post, as originally promised, if that's what you're seeking now:). A good friend who is a mom sent me the link to the Wikipedia article on #7 plastics and their use of Bisphenol-A (commonly known as BPA) which is known to cause health issues from being an endocrine disruptor, which messes with your hormones. (Which really messes with your health - read The Schwarzbein Principle 2 for more in that). From the Wiki:
"There are seven classes of plastics used in packaging applications. Type 7 is the catch-all "other" class, and some type 7 plastics, such as polycarbonate (sometimes identified with the letters "PC" near the recycling symbol) and epoxy resins, are made from bisphenol A monomer.[4] When such plastics are exposed to hot liquids, bisphenol A leaches out 55 times faster than it does under normal conditions, at up to 32 ng/hour.[81] Type 3 (PVC) can also contain bisphenol A as antioxidant in plasticizers.[4] Types 1 (PET), 2 (HDPE), 4 (LDPE), 5 (polypropylene), and 6 (polystyrene) do not use bisphenol A during polymerization or package forming.[citation needed]"
BPA is apparently also found in the lining of tin cans, so they recommend avoiding canned foods also. Hopefully industry will come up with an alternative soon, or forgo the need for using it altogether as consumer pressure builds. (Canada appears to have banned it outright already). Here's the link to the original Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
I recommend trying to use good old glass bottles if you can manage it - I stick mine in an old (unmatched) sock for cheap protection from breakage on the go. (Hey all you knitters, new project - water bottle socks;). Yes, they are a touch heavier, and require a touch gentler handling in our modern hectic lives, but may be well worth it. I reuse a couple of well-washed and rinsed Tazo Tea bottles myself for carrying water, as the size is just right - enough to keep me hydrated between water stops, and not too big or heavy to carry pretty easily. (You do need to secure the lids a touch more firmly).
And, as promised, here is the always to be included latest update from me on where to recycle almost everything in Portland, so you don't have to hunt through my prior posts;). (Ha, it's the first test of my promise to do so, we'll see if it works;). I realized I may end up throwing odds and ends up between major source updates, and may omit this once in a while. We'll see;). Live well.
The latest on
Recycling in Portland, OR
11/01/08 (no change since 10/30/08)
(Per the good people at Metro among others, who know what's up!)
ALL recycling systems require bottles, tubs and cans to be rinsed, empty, with no lids on. And NO PLASTIC BAGS IN CURBSIDE/APARTMENT RECYCLING AT ALL .Plastic bags must be returned to grocery stores or recycled separately (in mass) at an appropriate depot. (See below). Do not drop off bags of bottles or plastics in any recycling system. The bags gum up the works and cause loads to be tossed. (Nor leave plastic bags or film mixed in, same problem).
In general our curbside/apartment recycling is rather limited. That's why I've researched and listed the many other great other outlets for recycling many more items than curbside can take. I.e, if in doubt, leave it out of your curbside system, and take it to one of the many facilities listed below (e.g. Far West Fibers, Portland Recycling, Total Reclaim, etc.) I've tried to make it as simple as possible.
"There are seven classes of plastics used in packaging applications. Type 7 is the catch-all "other" class, and some type 7 plastics, such as polycarbonate (sometimes identified with the letters "PC" near the recycling symbol) and epoxy resins, are made from bisphenol A monomer.[4] When such plastics are exposed to hot liquids, bisphenol A leaches out 55 times faster than it does under normal conditions, at up to 32 ng/hour.[81] Type 3 (PVC) can also contain bisphenol A as antioxidant in plasticizers.[4] Types 1 (PET), 2 (HDPE), 4 (LDPE), 5 (polypropylene), and 6 (polystyrene) do not use bisphenol A during polymerization or package forming.[citation needed]"
BPA is apparently also found in the lining of tin cans, so they recommend avoiding canned foods also. Hopefully industry will come up with an alternative soon, or forgo the need for using it altogether as consumer pressure builds. (Canada appears to have banned it outright already). Here's the link to the original Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
I recommend trying to use good old glass bottles if you can manage it - I stick mine in an old (unmatched) sock for cheap protection from breakage on the go. (Hey all you knitters, new project - water bottle socks;). Yes, they are a touch heavier, and require a touch gentler handling in our modern hectic lives, but may be well worth it. I reuse a couple of well-washed and rinsed Tazo Tea bottles myself for carrying water, as the size is just right - enough to keep me hydrated between water stops, and not too big or heavy to carry pretty easily. (You do need to secure the lids a touch more firmly).
And, as promised, here is the always to be included latest update from me on where to recycle almost everything in Portland, so you don't have to hunt through my prior posts;). (Ha, it's the first test of my promise to do so, we'll see if it works;). I realized I may end up throwing odds and ends up between major source updates, and may omit this once in a while. We'll see;). Live well.
The latest on
Recycling in Portland, OR
11/01/08 (no change since 10/30/08)
(Per the good people at Metro among others, who know what's up!)
ALL recycling systems require bottles, tubs and cans to be rinsed, empty, with no lids on. And NO PLASTIC BAGS IN CURBSIDE/APARTMENT RECYCLING AT ALL .Plastic bags must be returned to grocery stores or recycled separately (in mass) at an appropriate depot. (See below). Do not drop off bags of bottles or plastics in any recycling system. The bags gum up the works and cause loads to be tossed. (Nor leave plastic bags or film mixed in, same problem).
In general our curbside/apartment recycling is rather limited. That's why I've researched and listed the many other great other outlets for recycling many more items than curbside can take. I.e, if in doubt, leave it out of your curbside system, and take it to one of the many facilities listed below (e.g. Far West Fibers, Portland Recycling, Total Reclaim, etc.) I've tried to make it as simple as possible.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Current Portland 2 bin Curbside/apartment Recycling CAN take:
(NO LIDS ON ANY CONTAINERS PLEASE, MUST ALL BE EMPTY AND CLEAN)
A) In separate glass bin only:
Only glass bottles and jars:must keep in separate bin from all other recyclables. Empty, clean, no lids. Also, no light bulbs, lamps, etc. Just jars and bottles from the kitchen. (Take fluorescent and high intensity flood light bulbs to Metro hazardous waste recycling centers. Normal light bulbs can apparently go to Total Reclaim in NE Portland according to Metro Oct 29, 2008).
B) In co-mingled rollout recycling bins:
Plastic bottles and tubs (no lids): bottles with a screw neck top, empty (clean) margarine or yogurt type tubs (No’s 1, 2 and 5 only). NO clamshell food containers (#6). AND NO OTHER PLASTICS WHATSOEVER. (E.g. toys, hangers, lids). All bottles and tubs must be clean, empty, NO LIDS. NO BAGS. (See below for where to take lids and other plastics). You can recycle empty laundry detergent bottles here.
Paper: Newspaper, magazines, and office paper and junk mail. (Envelopes with glassine windows are okay). NO NAPKINS OR TISSUES (this belongs in garbage, or compost). Please enclose shredded paper in a paper bag for ease of handling at facilities. (This is the only time you may contain something in any bag, and it must be paper). No foil lined paper. (e.g. metallic gift wrap).Staples okay. No paper clips. No food-contaminated or waxed containers either. (E.g. no frozen food boxes, or paper coffee cups with waxy insides. These can be composted under proper conditions but are too contaminated for normal paper recycling).
Steel and tin cans: (e.g. soup cans) clean, no lables, flatten as able, and tuck clean lids inside for safety. (I find squishing the top end of the cans with rounded bottoms to help in removing the label, and saving a little space). Clean aluminum foil also okay.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ALL OTHER RECYCLING:
Call Metro at 503-234-3000 or see www.metro-region.org to keep up on latest recycling outlets for MANY other items including STYROFOAM, ELECTRONICS, batteries and hazardous wastes (old paint, cleaners, fluorescent light bulbs)..
Far West Fibers takes virtually everything except styrofoam and hazardous wastes, and are one of the cheapest and easiest to get to. (Depot at SE 17th and Holgate). This includes ALL RIGID PLASTICS except styrofoam and now PLA #7 (these corn-based plastics). I.e, all the plastic lids, toys, hangers, clean clamshell food containers, other tubs, etc. that the curbside/apartment system does not take (except PLA:). Must be clean. (Apparently Portland Recycling Centers do too (website below) - I just haven't made it there yet, so can't vouch for them yet, but hopefully soon. I've got a bag of crinkly type plastic film saved up to take there, which Far West can't take).
Styrofoam: Total Reclaim on NE 60th and Columbia - $5/car or truck load. Must be clean. Can take clean meat packaging trays. www.totalreclaim.com
Computers and related items (printers, scanners, mice, keyboards): Free Geek www.freegeek.org (SE 10th and Mill, just south of Hawthorne). Reasonable fees apply.
Televisions and electronics: Bear eCycling on SE 63rd just south of Foster (tucked behind the small nursery store) takes ALL ELECTRONICS EXCEPT anything with freon coolant like Fridges and AC's. Far West does take these. This includes TV's, microwaves, blenders, remotes, toasters, batteries, etc. Basically, if it runs, ran, or ran something electronically, he can take it. There are reasonable fees charged for handling all items. Call for more info: 503-788-2235. www.bearecycling.com. Run by Oso Martin, founder of Free Geek, and fellow rabid responsible elecronics recycler. (He keeps toxics from going overseas for improper disposal). Don't forget you can get a government coupon good for $40 off an analog to digital aerial TV converter box to upgrade old analong TV's if you can't afford cable or a new digital TV.
Find additional info and responsible recycling outlets at:
www.metro-region.org (see “Find a Recycler” under Garbage and Recycling links on left side)
www.farwestfibers.com (take all rigid plastics besides styrofoam, plus much more)
www.portlandrecyclingcenters.com (takes all but styro, plus other crinkly plastic films besides stretchy #2 and 4)
www.enviromom.com (has updates on many ways to reduce, reuse, recycle in Portland)
www.masterrecycler.org (has updates on periodic local Plastics Roundups in Portland area that take all but styro)
www.totalreclaim.com (takes styrofoam in NE Portland - yay:) $5/load
www.buyworms.com for a good local source of red worms for vermicompostingWednesday, October 29, 2008
Rabid Recycling Update Oct 30 2008
You may have seen the article on recycling PLA #7, or corn-based plastics in the Portland Oregonian last Friday Oct 24, 2008. It tipped me off that this cannot be successfully recycled along with all the other plastics we can recycle at this time. I wanted to know more, so I visited Far West Fibers (www.farwestfibers.com) and called Metro again for their take on this latest development in plastics packaging. Turns out, it is indeed a lovely example of a red herring in the solid waste field, for it sounds wonderful at first blush: it is made from a domestically "renewable" resource - corn, and theoretically it breaks down faster than petroleum based plastics, thus not adding to landfill problems. The problem with this wonderful bit of green washing is this:
a) Per Metro it does NOT break down in our landfills on its own - nothing does, for they are huge, and anaerobic, and even newspapers have been found in old landfills from over 100 years ago, still legible and intact after all this time. Yum. Strike 1.
b) Even if it did break down in a landfill, it would emit methane gas in the process, which is many times worse than regular carbon dioxide for global warming. Strike 2. (Talk to residents of Kivalina, AK about whether global warming is real - they're having to move to the mainland due to erosion from it and are suing Exxon Mobile et al because of it. I hope they win).
c) It will break down - but only under the right circumstances and these are very, very limited at the moment. (It will not break down in your home compost system without a lot of extra processing and work to shred them up and keep the pile hot enough). Currently, there is only one commercial composting facility in the Pacific Northwest taking this stuff - and only certain kinds of it from certain restaurants (not the public) after testing to see if it breaks down within 60 days, which is their minimum standard. Kelly at Metro (503-234-3000) told me that not all of the #7 PLA products pass. So again, as average consumers, we have no way to know if what we're submitting will break down. Nor do we have a regular place to submit it. Strike 3. (At this point, you're out in my book, but there's more;).
d) Per Far West who actually deals with it now, it gums up normal plastics recycling facilities, as it has a lower melt-point than all the other petroleum based plastics we can and do recycle currently. This happens during the drying process after they've sorted and washed everything - not pretty. (It goes under high heat blast dryers on conveyer belts). Strike 4.
e) Growing corn is itself a rather fuel-intensive activity, from the actual farming to the fertilizing (it's a heavy feeder) and transporting of the product to the processing facilities. Whether used in bio-diesel (already), or this new solid product, corn is actually quite energy intensive to produce, even if it lowers our security threat from need for overseas oil imports. Also, putting more land under tillage for corn releases as much or more carbon than it removes. (Untilled land sequesters carbon). It also artificially inflates food prices, as demand for corn soars. So we're both releasing more carbon, and consuming more to produce this crop and product. Strike 5.
Convinced to avoid corn products? Good. What can you do about it? Try to avoid buying it! Although Burgerville is using it in their restaurants now, and succesfully commercially composting it - with monitoring and testing to make sure it works. But no, we should not take our store-bought PLA to them, as there are different grades. How to identify it? It can be hard. It's often labeled with "PLA" , so that's easy - just remove these containers to either throw away, or return to the store where you bought them to ask them what to do with them:) (Thus encouraging them to not buy such products). But others are only labeled #7 (which just means "all other plastics that are not 1-6"), and can't always be distinguished from petroleum based #7's. Or, not labeled at all. Yes, this is a growing problem. (Literally).
Sorry I don't have any easy answers for you on this one - other than to try to identify the producers and companies using the products, and write them and beg them to desist;). (Just say no to corn). Seriously. And try like mad not to buy any of these products. This goes in hand with trying to reduce consumption altogether - I keep bringing re-usable containers to buy items in bulk as much as possible. (Sugar, salt, flour, etc.). I try to buy my veggies loose from farmer's markets, until the winter, I switch to the unpackaged veggies at New Seasons. Yes, a little spendy, but you know what? The more of us that do this, the cheaper it will get. (New Seasons has rejected all PLA packaging by the way - good on them;).
I'll continue pursuing info on this as I can, and keep you all updated here. Just when we thought it was simple. Sorry - but life is what happens while we're busy making other plans.
PS One other odd note - I'm working on finding who can take and/or re-use those metallic crinkly plastic bags used for computer parts (e.g. hard drives and sound cards come in them). I think Free Geek may, but I'm still confirming this. Far West cannot take them - they contain metal which set off sensors in their facilities. So no, I don't believe they can just go to Portland Recycling either for this reason. Best for now is to reuse them as much as possible, but I understand, that only goes so far, especially for the average home PC user.
The latest on
Recycling in Portland
10/30/08
(Per the good people at Metro among others, who know what's up!)
ALL recycling systems require bottles, tubs and cans to be rinsed, empty, with no lids. And NO PLASTIC BAGS IN CURBSIDE/APARTMENT RECYCLING AT ALL .Plastic bags must be returned to grocery stores or recycled separately (in mass) at an appropriate depot. (See below). Do not drop off bags of bottles or plastics in any recycling system. The bags gum up the works and cause loads to be tossed. (Nor leave plastic bags or film mixed in, same problem).
In general our curbside/apartment recycling is rather limited. That's why I've researched and listed the many other great other outlets for recycling many more items than curbside can take. I.e, if in doubt, leave it out of your curbside system, and take it to one of the many facilities listed below (e.g. Far West Fibers, Portland Recycling, Total Reclaim, etc.) I've tried to make it as simple as possible.
a) Per Metro it does NOT break down in our landfills on its own - nothing does, for they are huge, and anaerobic, and even newspapers have been found in old landfills from over 100 years ago, still legible and intact after all this time. Yum. Strike 1.
b) Even if it did break down in a landfill, it would emit methane gas in the process, which is many times worse than regular carbon dioxide for global warming. Strike 2. (Talk to residents of Kivalina, AK about whether global warming is real - they're having to move to the mainland due to erosion from it and are suing Exxon Mobile et al because of it. I hope they win).
c) It will break down - but only under the right circumstances and these are very, very limited at the moment. (It will not break down in your home compost system without a lot of extra processing and work to shred them up and keep the pile hot enough). Currently, there is only one commercial composting facility in the Pacific Northwest taking this stuff - and only certain kinds of it from certain restaurants (not the public) after testing to see if it breaks down within 60 days, which is their minimum standard. Kelly at Metro (503-234-3000) told me that not all of the #7 PLA products pass. So again, as average consumers, we have no way to know if what we're submitting will break down. Nor do we have a regular place to submit it. Strike 3. (At this point, you're out in my book, but there's more;).
d) Per Far West who actually deals with it now, it gums up normal plastics recycling facilities, as it has a lower melt-point than all the other petroleum based plastics we can and do recycle currently. This happens during the drying process after they've sorted and washed everything - not pretty. (It goes under high heat blast dryers on conveyer belts). Strike 4.
e) Growing corn is itself a rather fuel-intensive activity, from the actual farming to the fertilizing (it's a heavy feeder) and transporting of the product to the processing facilities. Whether used in bio-diesel (already), or this new solid product, corn is actually quite energy intensive to produce, even if it lowers our security threat from need for overseas oil imports. Also, putting more land under tillage for corn releases as much or more carbon than it removes. (Untilled land sequesters carbon). It also artificially inflates food prices, as demand for corn soars. So we're both releasing more carbon, and consuming more to produce this crop and product. Strike 5.
Convinced to avoid corn products? Good. What can you do about it? Try to avoid buying it! Although Burgerville is using it in their restaurants now, and succesfully commercially composting it - with monitoring and testing to make sure it works. But no, we should not take our store-bought PLA to them, as there are different grades. How to identify it? It can be hard. It's often labeled with "PLA" , so that's easy - just remove these containers to either throw away, or return to the store where you bought them to ask them what to do with them:) (Thus encouraging them to not buy such products). But others are only labeled #7 (which just means "all other plastics that are not 1-6"), and can't always be distinguished from petroleum based #7's. Or, not labeled at all. Yes, this is a growing problem. (Literally).
Sorry I don't have any easy answers for you on this one - other than to try to identify the producers and companies using the products, and write them and beg them to desist;). (Just say no to corn). Seriously. And try like mad not to buy any of these products. This goes in hand with trying to reduce consumption altogether - I keep bringing re-usable containers to buy items in bulk as much as possible. (Sugar, salt, flour, etc.). I try to buy my veggies loose from farmer's markets, until the winter, I switch to the unpackaged veggies at New Seasons. Yes, a little spendy, but you know what? The more of us that do this, the cheaper it will get. (New Seasons has rejected all PLA packaging by the way - good on them;).
I'll continue pursuing info on this as I can, and keep you all updated here. Just when we thought it was simple. Sorry - but life is what happens while we're busy making other plans.
PS One other odd note - I'm working on finding who can take and/or re-use those metallic crinkly plastic bags used for computer parts (e.g. hard drives and sound cards come in them). I think Free Geek may, but I'm still confirming this. Far West cannot take them - they contain metal which set off sensors in their facilities. So no, I don't believe they can just go to Portland Recycling either for this reason. Best for now is to reuse them as much as possible, but I understand, that only goes so far, especially for the average home PC user.
The latest on
Recycling in Portland
10/30/08
(Per the good people at Metro among others, who know what's up!)ALL recycling systems require bottles, tubs and cans to be rinsed, empty, with no lids. And NO PLASTIC BAGS IN CURBSIDE/APARTMENT RECYCLING AT ALL .Plastic bags must be returned to grocery stores or recycled separately (in mass) at an appropriate depot. (See below). Do not drop off bags of bottles or plastics in any recycling system. The bags gum up the works and cause loads to be tossed. (Nor leave plastic bags or film mixed in, same problem).
In general our curbside/apartment recycling is rather limited. That's why I've researched and listed the many other great other outlets for recycling many more items than curbside can take. I.e, if in doubt, leave it out of your curbside system, and take it to one of the many facilities listed below (e.g. Far West Fibers, Portland Recycling, Total Reclaim, etc.) I've tried to make it as simple as possible.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Current Portland 2 bin Curbside/apartment Recycling CAN take:
(NO LIDS ON ANY CONTAINERS PLEASE, MUST ALL BE EMPTY AND CLEAN)
A) In separate glass bin only:
Only glass bottles and jars:must keep in separate bin from all other recyclables. Empty, clean, no lids. Also, no light bulbs, lamps, etc. Just jars and bottles from the kitchen. (Take fluorescent and high intensity flood light bulbs to Metro hazardous waste recycling centers. Normal light bulbs can apparently go to Total Reclaim in NE Portland according to Metro Oct 29, 2008).
B) In co-mingled rollout recycling bins:
Plastic bottles and tubs (no lids): bottles with a screw neck top, empty (clean) margarine or yogurt type tubs (No’s 1, 2 and 5 only). NO clamshell food containers (#6). AND NO OTHER PLASTICS WHATSOEVER. (E.g. toys, hangers, lids). All bottles and tubs must be clean, empty, NO LIDS. NO BAGS. (See below for where to take lids and other plastics). You can recycle empty laundry detergent bottles here.
Paper: Newspaper, magazines, and office paper and junk mail. (Envelopes with glassine windows are okay). NO NAPKINS OR TISSUES (this belongs in garbage, or compost). Please enclose shredded paper in a paper bag for ease of handling at facilities. (This is the only time you may contain something in any bag, and it must be paper). No foil lined paper. (e.g. metallic gift wrap).Staples okay. No paper clips. No food-contaminated or waxed containers either. (E.g. no frozen food boxes, or paper coffee cups with waxy insides. These can be composted under proper conditions but are too contaminated for normal paper recycling).
Steel and tin cans: (e.g. soup cans) clean, no lables, flatten as able, and tuck clean lids inside for safety. (I find squishing the top end of the cans with rounded bottoms to help in removing the label, and saving a little space). Clean aluminum foil also okay.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ALL OTHER RECYCLING:
Call Metro at 503-234-3000 or see www.metro-region.org to keep up on latest recycling outlets for MANY other items including STYROFOAM, ELECTRONICS, batteries and hazardous wastes (old paint, cleaners, fluorescent light bulbs)..
Far West Fibers takes virtually everything except styrofoam and hazardous wastes, and are one of the cheapest and easiest to get to. (Depot at SE 17th and Holgate). This includes ALL RIGID PLASTICS except styrofoam and now PLA #7 (these corn-based plastics). I.e, all the plastic lids, toys, hangers, clean clamshell food containers, other tubs, etc. that the curbside/apartment system does not take (except PLA:). Must be clean. (Apparently Portland Recycling Centers do too (website below) - I just haven't made it there yet, so can't vouch for them yet, but hopefully soon. I've got a bag of crinkly type plastic film saved up to take there, which Far West can't take).
Styorfoam: Total Reclaim on NE 60th and Columbia - $5/car or truck load. Must be clean. Can take clean meat packaging trays. www.totalreclaim.com
Computers and related items (printers, scanners, mice, keyboards): Free Geek www.freegeek.org (SE 10th and Mill, just south of Hawthorne). Reasonable fees apply.
Televisions and electronics: Bear eCycling on SE 63rd just south of Foster (tucked behind the small nursery store) takes ALL ELECTRONICS EXCEPT anything with freon coolant like Fridges and AC's. Far West does take these. This includes TV's, microwaves, blenders, remotes, toasters, batteries, etc. Basically, if it runs, ran, or ran something electronically, he can take it. There are reasonable fees charged for handling all items. Call for more info: 503-788-2235. www.bearecycling.com. Run by Oso Martin, founder of Free Geek, and fellow rabid responsible elecronics recycler. (He keeps toxics from going overseas for improper disposal). Don't forget you can get a government coupon good for $40 off an analog to digital aerial TV converter box to upgrade old analong TV's if you can't afford cable or a new digital TV.
Find additional info and responsible recycling outlets at:
www.metro-region.org (see “Find a Recycler” under Garbage and Recycling links on left side)
www.farwestfibers.com (take all rigid plastics besides styrofoam, plus much more)
www.portlandrecyclingcenters.com (takes all but styro, plus other crinkly plastic films besides stretchy #2 and 4)
www.enviromom.com (has updates on many ways to reduce, reuse, recycle in Portland)
www.masterrecycler.org (has updates on periodic local Plastics Roundups in Portland area that take all but styro)
www.totalreclaim.com (takes styrofoam in NE Portland - yay:) $5/load
www.buyworms.com for a good local source of red worms for vermicomposting
Welcome to Rabid Recyclig in Portland Oct 2008
Okay, I've broken down and started a new blog to handle the plethora of info I've been gathering about recycling in Portland, OR, where I'm becoming known as the Rabid Recycler. Until now I've been spamming my friends and acquaintances with periodic email updates, which I may still do, but this way you have a place to always refer to if you can't find that last email I sent with that new place that takes styrofoam, or whatever other tip I put out you're trying madly to remember.
A little about me - I'm a 41 y.o. Portland native who went away for about ten years in 1986, and came back in 1995 to nurse my ailing father. He has since passed (in 2000), and I've since re-established roots back in my home town, despite threatening to return to the seemingly more cosmopolitan Seattle area. Over time, it's become really clear to me I'm in a pretty cool place already: we have a wonderful diversity of cultures, and affordable food, music, arts, and lots of tree huggers who feed my soul with their hunger for good recycling information. So, I'm still here:).
I've always been a tree hugger, and avid recycler where ever I've gone, but I've become even more so in recent years, to the point I've started calling myself a "rabid recycler". (I'm on a garbage "diet" this year - I'm trying to get down to one bag/month. I still have a little way to go, though my new worm bin is helping;). And thus, a blog is born. My goal is to provide the latest and greatest (and most thorough) information on recycling as much as possible in the Portland, OR USA area at all times. Accordingly, I'll note I'm just a private citizen who recycles a lot and makes lots of phone calls toward that end, and so cannot guarantee the accuracy or up to date nature of the information I provide, as it is very dynamic, and new sources of recycling spring up even as others dissapear, almost weekly. No, I'm not a master recycler - yet. (See www.masterrecycler.org). But as the woman at Metro I just spoke with for over 20 minutes just told me - who cares. I'm doing all the right things. She also prodded me to start a website, and this is the result - a compromise. I hate keeping up websites, and I was worried that a blog was too "serial" in nature. I.e, if I had just spent an hour posting a bunch of current recycling information I'd spent several hours compiling (I research everything as much as possible before posting), I was worried about it getting buried "down stream" in the blog later. I.e, upon posting something else, I'd cause folks to have to search for the earlier info. (This is true of the great blog www.enviromom.com where her info on plastics recycling in Portland is now buried deep in her site beneath many great but less informative posts on life as a tree-hugging mom in Portland). So I hatched a solution: I will always publish the latest and greatest sources of recycling for as many categories as I can think of with every single post. Or, at least, every other post;). So you don't have to search much at all to find it. That's my goal anyway. We'll see how this goes. Accordingly, I'm going to post my first update on my latest findings about corn-based plastics next. Happy recycling - Jan
A little about me - I'm a 41 y.o. Portland native who went away for about ten years in 1986, and came back in 1995 to nurse my ailing father. He has since passed (in 2000), and I've since re-established roots back in my home town, despite threatening to return to the seemingly more cosmopolitan Seattle area. Over time, it's become really clear to me I'm in a pretty cool place already: we have a wonderful diversity of cultures, and affordable food, music, arts, and lots of tree huggers who feed my soul with their hunger for good recycling information. So, I'm still here:).
I've always been a tree hugger, and avid recycler where ever I've gone, but I've become even more so in recent years, to the point I've started calling myself a "rabid recycler". (I'm on a garbage "diet" this year - I'm trying to get down to one bag/month. I still have a little way to go, though my new worm bin is helping;). And thus, a blog is born. My goal is to provide the latest and greatest (and most thorough) information on recycling as much as possible in the Portland, OR USA area at all times. Accordingly, I'll note I'm just a private citizen who recycles a lot and makes lots of phone calls toward that end, and so cannot guarantee the accuracy or up to date nature of the information I provide, as it is very dynamic, and new sources of recycling spring up even as others dissapear, almost weekly. No, I'm not a master recycler - yet. (See www.masterrecycler.org). But as the woman at Metro I just spoke with for over 20 minutes just told me - who cares. I'm doing all the right things. She also prodded me to start a website, and this is the result - a compromise. I hate keeping up websites, and I was worried that a blog was too "serial" in nature. I.e, if I had just spent an hour posting a bunch of current recycling information I'd spent several hours compiling (I research everything as much as possible before posting), I was worried about it getting buried "down stream" in the blog later. I.e, upon posting something else, I'd cause folks to have to search for the earlier info. (This is true of the great blog www.enviromom.com where her info on plastics recycling in Portland is now buried deep in her site beneath many great but less informative posts on life as a tree-hugging mom in Portland). So I hatched a solution: I will always publish the latest and greatest sources of recycling for as many categories as I can think of with every single post. Or, at least, every other post;). So you don't have to search much at all to find it. That's my goal anyway. We'll see how this goes. Accordingly, I'm going to post my first update on my latest findings about corn-based plastics next. Happy recycling - Jan
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