On January 18, 2017 the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) adopted proposed rules that:

• Revise wastesheds’ voluntary recovery goals, which the proposed rules would clarify are no longer mandatory or a basis for DEQ enforcement.
• Describe DEQ’s methodology for measuring progress towards SB 263’s statewide food waste, plastic, and carpet recovery goals.
• Add SB 263’s four new recycling program elements, increasing to thirteen the options available to local governments.
• Amend the expanded education and promotion program element to include a contamination reduction education plan. The plan would require local governments that use this element to also determine contamination levels in collected recyclables and take educational action to reduce contamination.
• Update minimum numbers of recycling program elements required for certain cities. For each city with a minimum number of recycling program elements, the county administered area between the city’s limits and urban growth boundary, or within Metro, the area outside the city’s limits but within Metro, would also need a recycling program with the city’s minimum number of elements.
• Add SB 263’s seven new waste prevention education and reuse program elements and require program element minimums ranging from three to five elements, depending.
• Remove DEQ rules’ references to the discontinued Two Percent Recovery Rate Credit programs.
• Revise rules allowing local governments to implement alternative programs to meet their minimum recycling requirements and, where applicable, waste prevention and reuse program requirements. The proposed rules would allow a local government using a DEQ-approved alternative program the adaptability of meeting either the lesser of its recovery goal or recovery levels comparable to similar communities.
• “Clean up” OAR 340-90 to make Division 90 consistent with the SB 263-based proposed rules.

Additional Information

For general information about the rulemaking, you can see this web page: Recycling 2016 Rulemaking

Copies of the adopted rules are attached to the EQC staff report which is located here: SB 263 opportunity to recycle EQC staff report with attached rules

You can also obtain more information about this rulemaking by contacting:

Peter Spendelow
spendelow.peter@deq.state.or.us
503-229-5253