Recycling On Wheels

Recycling for most families is second nature.  But it's a total pain trying to stuff everything into the yellow recycling bin.  We have two and it's overflowing most weeks, not to mention the "slap on the hand" we get most weeks for not doing a good job of sorting, or separating out glass.  Well good news, Portland has a recycling plan looking at up-sizing to a big blue rolling carts (decision pending this summer).  And the best part?  We will be able to recycle yogurt containers and need to separate paper, plastic and metal. Glass will still need to be separated, but in another bin.  The proposal also calls for yard debris pickup to change to weekly (no more getting our weeks mixed up) and allowing for compostable food scraps to be hauled away along with the yard debris. Neat-O! Offer your support for the plan or provide feedback on ways to increase recycling citywide by visiting the City of Portland Web site.

Comments

[hau]

I can't believe I'm so excited at the prospect of larger recycling bins. Yay! We share that same issue of overflowing recyclables.

As an aside, I do wish it were easier to recycle some other household waste such as batteries. Even though we try to limit "battery operated" toys, we somehow do manage to go through (and collect) our fair share. Anyone recommend a good rechargeable option (we've haven't found some that are that dependable)?

[NoPo Mama]

Thanks for including the "offer your support" link--filling it out makes me feel like our opinions and needs will be considered in the final decision. Can't wait for those big bins and weekly compost/yard debris pick up!

[olivia]

We are major recycling culprits and have received notices on our recycling boxes. I hope this plan is approved and I will love recycling more (especially yogurt tubs!). Portland is known for being a leader in sustainable practices, and it only fits to have an augmented recycling program.

In a previous discussion, http://urbanmamas.typepad.com//urbanmamas/2007/02/recyclables.html Far West Fibers was mentioned and they accept batteries.

Also, you can "Find a Recycler" on the Metro Website: http://www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=1383 and it appears that all Radio Shacks accept household batteries needing to be recycled.

[Blair]

I was confused about recycling non-rechargable batteries so I emailed Metro, and here's the response I got. Sorry it's so long.

Also, I'm surprised to learn how different our recycling is in Clackamas County - we have a teeninsy garbage can (we can pay more for a larger one if we want); a humongous recycling garbage can that you can put paper, plastic, an metal in with no separating; a small bin for glass and motor oil; and a humongous can for yard waste. I think our monthly bill is $25.

Here's the email:
First of all, household alkaline batteries have improved greatly in
recent years so that they do not contain as much mercury as they did in
the past and it is legal to place them in the garbage. However, we do
still encourage recycling batteries to recover materials and safely
dispose of those hazardous chemicals that they do still contain.
Additionally, with the popularity of digital cameras and some other
devices, the use of more hazardous batteries with a longer life-span,
such as lithium batteries, has increased.

If you look at our "Find a Recycler"
(www.metro-region.org/findrecycler) feature on our website, you
will find both household batteries and lead acid batteries (such as
automotive batteries) listed under "hazardous waste". The results will
include recyclers that take both rechargeable batteries and
non-rechargeable batteries, so it's necessary to read the notes
carefully.

For household batteries, you will find that the Metro hazardous waste
facilities and hazardous waste collection events will take any kind of
battery. You can find information about the events and the facilities
at www.metro-region.org/hhw. At the bottom of the page there are
several links, including one for the facilities and one with the list
of
events. If you have just one battery, you may want to wait until
you've
accumulated more or you may want to look around your home to see if you
have other hazardous materials described on the web page that you could
dispose to make the trip worth your while.

Additionally, the following two companies accept batteries from the
general public:

Earth Protection Services
7272 SW Durham Road, Ste. 100
(503) 636-3623
Charges by the pound: 80¢ per pound if the batteries are sorted by
type (NOTE: This means type of battery, not size, so lithium,
alkaline,
Ni-Cad, etc. separated out), $1 per pound if they are combined.

Pride Recycling
13980 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Road
(503) 625-6177
Accepts all types of household batteries for free.

Thank you again for your correspondence. If you have further
questions, please feel free to write to us again or to contact Metro's
recycling information hotline at (503) 234-3000.