Recycler of the Year: Collector/Processor - Republic Services
Republic Services is one of the leading providers of organics collection and processing in the Oregon region. The Process and Recovery Center opened in 1992 and was first used to process urban wood and to make hog fuel. In 1993, they began to process yard debris there. Republic Services started the first curbside yard debris program in Oregon, in the City of Corvallis and that material was taken to The Process and Recovery Center. In 2010, Republic renamed the facility to Pacific Region Compost (PRC). PRC became the first facility in Oregon to be permitted to accept Type 3 feedstocks, including food scraps, for composting.
The opening of PRC created a new option for food scraps to be composted in Oregon and several communities adopted food waste collection programs shortly after PRC opened. PRC is now processing over 100,000 yards of organic material per year, up from 20,000 yard in 2009. More than 200 yards of finished compost is donated annually to local organizations such as SAGE Garden in Benton County.
Republic Services is now permitted to operated and build the first anaerobic digest in the Metro region, which will process commercial food scraps. This facility is expected to turn commercial food waste into natural gas for CNG collection vehicles. The facility will also generate electricity to reach the grid and will produce solid and liquid materials that will be used for agricultural purposes.
Republic Services has committed to providing infrastructure needed to support the growing demand for organics solutions from local communities, creating a collection mode, and backing it with a franchised rate to support the sustainability of the program. Republic is a leader for organics programs across Oregon.
Photo: Julie Jackson and Rachel Snyder, Rebublic Servies; Courtesy of Carter Hubbard.