West Coast News

China's recent decision to no longer accept post-consumer plastics has left local recyclers facing a serious challenge.

Oregon currently doesn't have a facility designed to separate plastics from the other materials collected.

Denton Plastics in Northeast Portland accepts plastics, but the material comes in separated from commercial and industrial sources, like grocery chains and nurseries.

In response to China's recent policies restricting the amount of contamination in recyclables it accepts, Coos County has reduced its contamination in its recycling by 85 percent in just two months.

Waste Today reports: 

Assemblymember Mark Stone, a democrat representing the 29th California Assembly District, has reintroduced legislation to require plastic bottle caps to be tethered to their beverage containers. By banning bottles that don’t have attached caps, California will reduce one of the most prevalent sources of plastic litter in the state, he says.

Last fall, Manzanita became the fifth city in the state (joining Portland, Corvallis, Eugene, and McMinnville) and the first on the Oregon Coast to ban single-use plastic carryout bags. The Manzanita City Council voted unanimously to pass the ordinance in an effort to reduce plastic debris on beaches and in the Pacific Ocean.

As vendors across Oregon curb their recycling services, Milton-Freewater residents will no longer be able to recycle materials at their curbs.

City Manager Linda Hall said the city needed to make the transition when Milton-Freewater’s recycling contractor — Horizon Project Inc. — told city officials that the organization could no longer afford to provide recycling services.

From the NWPSC February Newsletter

NFL announces zero waste plan for Super Bowl - from Construction and Demolition Recycling

Elizabeth Hovde: Recycling efforts should match our talk (Opinion) - from Oregonlive.com

Metro approved final administrative rules, effective March 1, 2018, to guide the licensing and inspection of facilities that receive source-separated recyclable materials as well as some facilities that convert waste to energy or fuel.

Read more at Metro

The Call for Papers is the California Resource Recovery Association’s invitation to participate in and contribute your knowledge and expertise to CRRA2018 in Oakland, CA!

This year’s event will be held at the Oakland Marriott City Center, July 26-29, 2018.

 Abstracts are welcome for an array of Zero Waste topics including: