Submitted by Jonathan M. Rivin, Oregon DEQ

If you’ve ever attended a conference, you’ll know that promotional items (e.g., wearables, souvenirs, etc.) , sometimes branded, are ubiquitous. The intent of these freebies – colloquially termed SWAG (Stuff We All Get) – is to recognize sponsoring organizations and enhance attendee experience. Often, conference attendees are given a “gift bag” containing SWAG. While common for in-person gatherings, virtual conferences did not necessarily put a halt to this practice.

Oregonians have partnered with the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) to raise more than $125,508 in donated bottles and cans over the last three weeks to support Ukrainians in crisis through Oregon’s Bottle Bill.

A total of $75,508 came from residents donating OR 10-cent bottles and cans, and the rest was matched by the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC). The funds will go to Mercy Corps’ relief efforts on the ground in Ukraine. 

What is the name of your business or organization? Oregon State University Materials Management

What does your business/organization do? Help OSU achieve its carbon reduction and broader sustainability goals by preventing, reusing and recycling while advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) throughout the work we do.

Rick had been a long-time AOR member and Board member and has just rejoined our ranks! Welcome back, Rick!

What is your name? Rick Paul

Where do you work and what do you do?  Retired, but volunteer board member of Rim Rock Recycling in Burns, Oregon

Tell us how you embrace recycling/sustainability into your home or workplace? I recycle whatever is possible in a distant recycling area. We have limited items for recycling.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, including Americans’ waste disposal habits.

That was one of the big takeaways from two new Pacific Northwest garbage and recycling studies that were released recently. Both showed a serious uptick in the amount of trash people are generating and, in some cases, disposing of improperly.

Continue Reading on AOR Member BRING's Website

AOR Member Re-Trac Connect is once again collaboratating again with One Tree Planted. Last year they planted over 500 trees, and they’re on a mission to exceed that number this year! Whether you’re already an MMP member or you are joining for the first time, once you complete the three core surveys by December 31, 2021, a tree will be planted in the U.S. or Canada. Trees play a huge role in our environment - they clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, and sequester harmful atmospheric carbon, helping to mitigate rapid climate change.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 10 office in Seattle announced the first round of its Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities grant projects. The $335,000 grant program will support seven local pollution prevention and sustainability projects aimed at making communities safer, healthier, and more resilient.  

Oregon DEQ is an AOR member and sponsor of Sustainable Oregon 2021, AOR's virtual annual conference.

Oregon DEQ has released a new analytical tool to help Oregon's sustainability workers and activists quantify the effects of waste management activities like recycling.

Welcome new member Debbie Miller!

Where do you work and what do you do?

I am a retired physician.

Tell us how you embrace recycling/sustainability in your home or workplace?

We shop responsibly with upstream and downstream waste in mind and reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as we can.

What motivates you to recycle and live sustainably?

The City of Eugene, who is sponsoring the "Never Stop Learning: Where You Are, In Your Language" session at Sustainable Oregon 2021, has received an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Program Excellence Award for its Love Food Not Waste® (LFNW) program, which was selected as a 202