Recycler of the Year

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.

David McCall was hired as Tillamook County’s solid waste director in 2012. Since then he has helped to launch many programs that have helped advanced sustainable materials management in Oregon.

These programs include:

Birch Community Services was started in 1992. Their mission is to provide a community where people can be responsible and accountable for meeting their basic needs and to equip them with tools to overcome financial difficulty. They do this by providing education to clients, facilitating a network of food and product donation, and they share their bounty with partner agencies.

Fort George Brewery opened in Astoria in March 2007. They have always kept their environmental impact in mind.

Astoria does not have any sustainability or solid waste and recycling staff, so Fort George hired their own Sustainability Director, Renee, in May of 2016.

The ReBuilding Center focuses on the highest parts of the waste hierarchy; Reduce and Reuse. They inspire people to make mindful use of the excess materials from local construction and deconstruction projects, which greatly reduces the need for these items to be processed in local transfer stations.

The Oregon Food Bank Network is made up of 21 regional food banks and approximately 970 partner agencies in Oregon and Clark County, Washington. Oregon Food Bank works with partners across the food system collection about 90 million pounds of surplus from farmers, ranchers, fishers, processors, distributors, and grocers.

On Friday, June 10th at its 39th Annual Conference, the Association of Oregon Recyclers presented awards to outstanding businesses, individuals, and organizations in the fields of recycling, reuse, and sustainability.

The winners in each category were: