For my newer readers and fans, a reminder that this blog was born of my burning desire to throw away as little as possible as a rather “normal” consumer in the Portland, OR area, and I always include the latest and greatest I know of on where to take as many things as possible at the bottom of each post (now in green type). (Hint: go there now, if that’s all you’re after today:). I also urge reducing, and reusing before recycling as much as possible, knowing this can be very challenging for modern households, especially with children. But there are ways;). (Buy in bulk, bring your own containers, grow your own food, buy whole items and parcel up yourself - yes, all of this involves a little more time and work than grabbing a pre-packaged item already neatly portioned out for you. Yes, a challenge in our busy lives). Why am I so rabid about this? Becaues almost nothing breaks down in a modern landfill. So we are truly, slowly running out of space. (Hawaii is already running out and may start shipping their garbage to us in fact: http://tinyurl.com/49pcfr) Burning is no better - adds to global warming pollution big time, even if still organic, so avoid that too, please.
And once again in general, you have 2 main recycling options in Portland: a) the cubside/apartment bin system which is somewhat limited , and b) taking things to Far West Fibers (www.farwestfibers.com) and other places yourself (which covers a LOT more than the curbside system, which is my primary goal – to keep stuff out of the garbage:). The good news, our options are steadily improving with time. (Hint: try coordinating with neighbors on periodic trips for things like styro-foam and hazardous wastes that you don't have all the time. I go about once per quarter, and ping about 5 people to net me a full car load each time since I don't generate much of these items on my own).
The Latest
Update on #4 flexible styro-foam-like packing blocks
On other fronts, my quest to find out if that flexible styro-foam like puffed plastic blocking that comes in shipping boxes for things like computers continues.
Further, when I inquired of Metro about it over a month ago, they said that Total Reclaim in N Portland was taking it. (Total Reclaim takes styro-foam, see links at bottom). But, my latest conversation with my partner in eco-saving "crime" there Patrick, said they no longer take it now. So, "recyclat emptor" I guess? (does that work?) I.e, Please know that things change RAPIDLY for us rabid recyclers, and it's always best to check. I always suggest phoning first to save a trip for just one (type of) item. Patrick said he's gonna look into it too, and we'll see who gets it pinned down first.
CD /DVD update
A reminder that CDs and DVD's need to go in their own special bin at Far West (not mixed in with all other rigid plastics) as they contain some metal which they try to recover. This is in the dark green building building in the right hand lot off SE 17th of Far West Fibers, vs the more visible left hand lot (when headed south on 17th off of Holgate). The right hand (west-side) lot is also where you can take applicances, electronics, and other larger items that Far West takes. They also separate out the jewel cases (if you're so mindful), and when I asked why, was told it's because those are known to be made of #6, and can go into a #6 product again - so good to keep separate as opposed to in the "all other rigid plastics" bin. (Tho it's not the end of the world if they end up there). Again, this is for "rabid" recyclers:).
Books
I also learned that the book drop off at Far West is only for books that might be able to be re-used/resold. Any that are totally trashed, or moldy/out of date just get dumped into the mixed paper bin in the end. Apparently someone actually goes through the books bin and sorts them out, and resells or donates those that can still be used, but recycles the rest. Just fyi.
Composting in Portland (hopefully coming soon to a curbside near you;).
I'm excited to share that the City of Portland is officially looking at implementing a curbside residential compost pickup sometime in the next year, hopefully. I learned this not only from Metro, but Twitter of all places, whenI saw @MayorSamAdams tweet about it a couple weeks ago. (I promptly applauded those efforts, natch). It's not a done deal yet, but it appears the City is in middle of securing a contractor and a site for them to process the stuff. (The pilot project underway currently sends stuff up to Cedar Grove Composting in Washington, our only current regional industrial composting facility. Word also has it the Portland Pilot Project is at capacity just now). What's the difference between compost and our current yard debris you ask? Yard debris currently is not supposed to include food waste. The compost can/will include food waste, and possibly those corn based plastics - but don't quote me on the latter. (Oh how happy I'll be if so, tho, natch:).
And happily my buddies on the board of balkanalia! (www.balkanalia.org) are letting me pursue composting as a possible option for camp this year. I'm currently in phone tag with Metro as I type this waiting to find out if we can. Keep your toes crossed - we're all quite for it, but the devil's always in the details as you know. But if not this year, for sure hopefully next. Otherwise, Maria and I will consider diligently trying to collect, clean and recycle all the #6 based plastic solo cups we use for Italian Sodas in the Kafana like we did last year. (A labor of love, I assure you;).
Rapid Refill Ink
As some of you know, I've taken up photography with a sort of vengeance, including printing my own fine art works now. So I've had a crash course in printing photos with an Epson color inkjet, including the infamous "OMG is ink expensive!" discovery. (Now I know why they offered the printer for free via rebate;). And while I've seen myriad ads for cheap/discount ink refills and refillers, my fellow fine art photography peeps have discouraged me from going down that path, in the interest of ensuring the archival quality of my prints. (And I wish to ensure the archival quality of my prints;). So... I was curious to hear what the proprietor of Rapid Refill Ink on SE 82nd in Clackamas might tell me when I happened upon his store one day. And I found Harry Kirkman III to be one of the most engaging, intelligent, humorous, kind and genuine business people I've ever met anywhere. He's been going strong for 5 years now, and getting stronger thanks to the recession driving business his way. And I believe he offers a very high quality product in the refill market that I don't hesitate to recommend to any normal, casual home or business printers needing inkjet refills. (And he knows his printers and cartridges, I assure you). FWIW, he guarantees his product against any harm to your printer 100%. (Seriously, talk to him - he'll fix or replace your printer if you can prove his cartridge harmed it. And says the ink will perform as well or better than original manufacturer's). But as he could not guarantee the same archival quality for my fine art prints that Epson does for the moment, I'm holding off for my own refills just now.
But... I truly felt like this was one of the few "old-school" do it right kind of businesses, where he truly cares about the customer, and wants to do right by you. Not just make a quick buck. And I think that's an increasingly rare quality. Besides he's keeping tons of expired cartridges out of the landfill. (I need to check if we can recycle them at Far West too, but don't think so). You can also ust bring empty inkjet cartridges to him, even if you don't refill there. He is very environmentally pro-active, including using "green" building materials in the store. (Ever seen a desktop made of sunflower seed hulls? Check it out:). So, there's my shout out to Harry in lieu of my personal purchasing power to him. Address is: 11354 SE 82nd, in the Winco Foods complex: www.rapidrefillink.com. 503-653-3929
Misc other new cool links/finds:
A few other neat sites/products I've stumbled on since I posted last that I'll also start including in the main links collection at the bottom of every post now:
http://freecycle.org (great source for re-using/re-purposing your stuff, before even recycling). Kind of like Craig's list for rabid recyclers;).
http://www.terracycle.net - currently under re-construction - dealt with upcycling if memory serves
http://www.recycline.com - the website of Preserve products, made of recycled plastic, who takes back ALL their products for full product cycling - how awesome is that?:) Makers of the recyclable toothbrush you can find at Trader Joes, New Seasons, and online, among other things.
I welcome additional links/tips - bear in mind several of the blogs/links I have already point to many other great links. (E.g. www.enviromom.com and the Green Garbage Project). Thanks for reading this far if you have, and thanks for any/all efforts to help reduce our waste stream here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Until next time:
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Where to Take Stuff in Portland Area 08/07/09
Per the good people at Metro (www.metro-region.org) and Far West Fibers, who know what's up!)
You have 2 main recycling options in Portland: a) the cubside/apartment bin system which is somewhat limited, and b) taking things to Far West Fibers (www.farwestfibers.com) and other places yourself (which covers a LOT more than the curbside system).
ALL recycling systems require bottles, tubs and cans to be clean, empty, with no lids attached.
(Lids can be taken separately to Far West public depots below). NO PLASTIC BAGS IN CURBSIDE/APARTMENT RECYCLING AT ALL . (Do not drop off bags of bottles or other objects in any recycling system. The bags gum up the works and cause loads to be tossed. Nor leave plastic bags or film or #7PLA corn-based plastics mixed in a load, same problem). Other #7's are okay, just not those NO CORN BASED PLASTICSlabeled PLA or "made from corn". (#7 just means "misc", that is not a 1-6). You can take clean stretchy plastic bags to your local grocery store, or to the Far West Fibers depots below. (Remove the zipper from ziploc bags tho).
In general our Portland Metro curbside/apartment recycling is rather limited due to handling issues. But Far West Fibers takes much more than the curbside system allows - you just have to drop it off at their depots yourself. That's why I've researched and listed the other great outlets for recycling many more items than curbside can take. (Some items in curbside loads will cause whole load to just get dumped in landfill - ouch). So, if in doubt, leave it out of your curbside system, and take it yourself 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.
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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 unbroken jars and bottles from the kitchen.
(Take fluorescent and high intensity flood light bulbs to Metro hazardous waste recycling centers
listed below).
B) In 2nd co-mingled rollout recycling bins you can combine:
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 (e.g. toys, hangers, lids). (See below for where to take those!) All bottles and tubs must be clean, empty, NO LIDS. NO BAGS. You can recycle empty (rinsed) laundry detergent bottles in curbside bin (lid off).
Paper: Newspaper, magazines, and office paper and junk mail. (Envelopes with glassine windows are okay). NO NAPKINS OR TISSUES (this belongs in garbage or better- compost:). No wax paper or wax coated frozen food cartons. Please enclose shredded paper in a paper bag for ease of handling. (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.
Steel and tin cans: (e.g. soup cans) clean, no labels, 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. (Don't tuck small aluminum objects inside steel/tin cans tho, thanks - gotta keep non-ferrous separate from ferrous metals:).
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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 (www.farwestfibers.com): 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 electronics, appliances, and ALL RIGID PLASTICS except styrofoam and now PLA #7 (corn-based plastics). (Other #7's okay). I.e, they can take 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 and empty still. $2 donation.
Styorfoam: Total Reclaim on NE 60th and Columbia - $5/car or truck load. Must be clean. Can take clean styro meat packaging trays (even colored ones). www.totalreclaim.com
Computers and all pc related items (printers, scanners, mice, keyboards): Free Geek www.freegeek.org (SE 10th and Mill, just south of Hawthorne). Reasonable fees apply, although technically pc bodies and monitors can now be donated for free per new Oregon eCycles law starting January 1, 2009. (Free Geek could still use your $ donations. Every dollar helps).
Computer bodies, monitors and Televisions only: Up to 7 of these items at a time can now be dropped off for free at most Goodwill donations stations apparently (along with some other recyclers), per our new (2009) Oregon eCycles law. But not their peripherals. That is, no mice, keyboards, printers, cables, etc. Just the computer and laptop bodies and monitors and television sets are covered under this program. (You can drop off the other stuff as a donation, or take to Free Geek, above). A fee charged for more. Some recyclers may still request a donation or fee to defray their continued costs in processing more than 7, or for additional separate items. See www.oregonecycles.org for more on this per the new law in effect January 1, 2009.
Links to additional recycling outlets and info:
www.metro-region.org (see “Find a Recycler” under Garbage and Recycling links on left side)
www.oregonecycles.org for info on the new e-Cycling law in effect 1/1/09 to keep e-waste out of landfills. (So far just covers pc's, monitors and tv's).
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 still best to take smaller plastic items (e.g. bottle tops/lids) that curbside doesn't currently take to the SE Far West Fibers depot to put in their bin allotted for same, vs the co-mingled baler at the N Portland recycling center where they fall out. And, they're probably going to shut down their NW and Lake Oswego sites soon, when Far West takes them over, and may use them for storage vs drop off. Check website first)
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) 2/14/09 - these may be on hold just now due to recession. Check first.
www.totalreclaim.com (takes styrofoam in NE Portland - yay:) $5/load
www.buyworms.com for a good local Portland source of red worms for vermicomposting (you can get them for free in any good compost or manure pile too;).
http://greengarbageproject.adammathiasdesign.com An Oregon couple on a no garbage diet for one year (2009-2010). Updated often, loaded with great reducing tips.
http://freecycle.org ("Craig's List" for recyclers to try to reuse/repurpose stuff first)
http://www.terracycle.net - under construction, but normally upcyclers of some packaging
http://www.recycline.com - the Preserve Products line of fully recycled/recyclable items
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