HomeMy WebLinkAboutPresentation - Recycling Update 11-28-18RECYCLING IN EUGENE
Waste Prevention and Green Building Team
November 2018
Changes to Recycling
April 2018
Eugene limits certain plastics and paper in
recycling
September 2018
Waste Collection Rate Increase
In part due to recycling costs
How Recycling Works in Eugene
How did we get here?
China National Sword Campaign
2016: the US exported 16 million tons of recyclable
commodities worth $5 billion to China.
July of 2017 the Chinese government informed the
WTO that it is going to ban certain waste materials
starting Jan. 2018, this includes mixed paper and
plastic.
Contamination rate of .5%.
Curbside: 10-13%
Oregon Cleaned Material: 2-3%
How did we get here?
Regional Concerns
6 Material Recovery Facilities –Portland Area
Inability to move material (large backlogs)
Price increase
Recycling: $35 $130
Landfill: $77
How did we get here?
Local Limitations
Transport
Limited Local Processing
EcoSort
International Paper
Lane County Plastic Ban
DEQ Concurrence
Let’s talk about recycling
Why do we recycle?
It’s good
Industrial Demand
Has to remain cost-
effective
Constant competition
with gas prices
After Reduce and
Reuse, Recycling is a
last resort
Let’s talk about landfills
Landfilling Today
Absolute last resort
for most products
Highly
sophisticated and
regulated
Capacity
Keeps money local
Prevents pollution
Let’s talk about landfills
Short
Mountain
Composition
What can we do?
Waste Prevention Programming
Multifamily Recycling Program
Increased hauler and property manager responsibility
Educational materials
Construction Material Recovery & Reuse Program
BRING recovered over 40 tons of reusable material in 1st year.
Hummingbird
DRAWN
Wildcraft
NOWHAUS
Residential Food Waste Collection
Spring 2019
What can we do?
Education
Cooperative RG Pieces
Youtube Commercial
Social Media Updates
Long-Term RRR Campaign
What can we do?
Infrastructure Investment?
Eugene 2015 Study
S. Oregon & Flow Control
Lane County
Issues
Commodity Prices
Material Volume
Geography
Investment
Automation
What can we do?
Remain flexible and
adaptive
Questions and Discussion
For more information, contact
Michael Wisth
Waste Prevention & Green Building Analyst
541.682.6835
Michael.c.wisth@ci.Eugene.or.us