DEQ Annual recovery report now available
From the DEQ Material Management December Newsletter
DEQ’s annual Oregon Material Recovery and Waste Generation Report is now available, and the results show a decrease in recovery and an increase in waste generation.
In 2016, Oregon recovered 2,266,556 tons of waste, representing 42.6 percent of all waste generated, a decrease from 46.2 percent recovered in 2015. At the same time, Oregonians generated 5,316,989 tons of waste, up 2.7 percent from 2015.
Despite the decrease in recovery, energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions from materials recovered in 2016 were significant. Energy savings were comparable to 216 million gallons of gasoline and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions were estimated at 2.9 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents.