A new law in Oregon will update the state’s recycling systems to make recycling easier and more reliable, expand access to services and upgrade the facilities that sort recyclables. The Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (Senate Bill 582), signed Aug. 6 by Gov. Kate Brown, will also ensure collected materials are recycled responsibly, and reduce social and environmental harms, such as plastic pollution. 

Georgia-Pacific (GP), Atlanta, has begun operations at its GP Toledo material recovery facility (MRF) in Toledo, Oregon. The MRF has applied GP’s Juno technology, which is designed to recycle highly contaminated recovered fiber and mixed materials.

Christer Henriksson, president of Juno Technology at Georgia-Pacific, says GP has been piloting Juno since 2013 at a plant in Savannah, Georgia, and began construction on its Toledo MRF about two years ago.

The company operating Oregon’s only hazardous waste landfill says it needs room to grow as it anticipates an influx of waste in the years to come.

Military cleanups, federal Superfund sites, firefighter training facilities — all are among reasons cited by Chemical Waste Management, or CWM, to expand its hazardous waste operation outside the Columbia River town of Arlington.

A public hearing to consider additional amendments to the Plastic Pollution & Recycling Modernization Act (currently SB 582-1) has been scheduled for Thursday, April 8 at 1 pm.

The 2021 Legislative Session is one of the busiest in recent memory. There are several pieces of legislation that AOR's Legislative Committee has already made recommendations on to the AOR Board. As of today, here is the list of bills that AOR will support or oppose. This is only a partial list of proposed legislation that impact our industry this session. The AOR Legislative Committee will continue to monitor other bills and provide additional recommendations as those bills make their way through committees througout the session.

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“America’s Plastic Makers are helping lead the way toward ending plastic waste by investing, innovating, and driving policies that treat used plastics as a resource for making new products. One of the reasons plastics are so widely used in packaging is that they allow us to do more with less, which inherently reduces waste and carbon emissions, an increasingly important factor as we collectively work to address climate change.

Cleanup Program in Portland, OR Neighborhood Means WCleanup Program in PortlanThe Cigarette Waste Recycling Program, an initiative by the Pearl District Neighborhood Association, was started by Dave Mitchell. “The program is designed to collect as many cigarette butts as we can, using 65 receptacles that are attached to parking poles,” explained Mitchell. He put up cigarette disposal boxes around the neighborhood in 2019 where smokers can safely discard the waste.

Congratulations to AOR member Alando Simpson, CEO and owner of City of Roses Disposal & Recycling (COR), who was named a "Building Diversity Honoree" by the Daily Journal of Commerce. COR is a certified B-Corp with a diverse workforce and is the first waste company in the United States fully owned by African-Americans. The Building Diversity Awards honor disadvantaged, minority-owned, women-owned, emerging small businesses, and combat-disabled veteran-owned firms as well as the public agencies, organizations, and large private companies that support them.

Some changes for the better are coming to the recycling center in Enterprise, courtesy of the new Wallowa County Recycling Task Force.

On Monday, July 13, the volunteer group posted new, informative signs to help “customers” sort recyclables into the correct bins. The group has developed an informative brochure. They will have volunteer “recycling coaches” at the center during July to answer questions and provide assistance. And best of all, there will be prizes and prize drawings for recyclers.