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City hoping to pick up trash less often

Eventually, service will drop to every other week

By Steve Law

The Portland Tribune, Sep 17, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (7 Reader comments)

FEWER TRASH DAYS? RENTON SHOWS THE WAY

Renton, Wash., switched to every-other-week garbage pickup for all residential customers in January, and quickly reaped the environmental benefits.

Air emissions from garbage trucks are down 30 percent in Renton, says Jackie Lang, director of sustainability for Waste Management of Oregon, whose sister company handles all of Renton’s residential trash pickup. More notably, there has been a 24 percent reduction in waste going to the landfill.

Renton customers are putting 3 percent more stuff into recycling bins, she says, so most of the trash reduction is traced to residents putting more food waste into their composting/yard debris bins.

Portland hopes to replicate Renton’s system when the Rose City begins offering curbside pickup of kitchen waste.

“Food collection and composting is really the next frontier in sustainability in Oregon,” Lang says.

Making the change to every-other-week service is no simple matter with customers, though.

“It does require behavioral changes,” Lang says. “It also requires a proactive approach to educating the public and winning their support.”

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Reader comments

Re: City hoping to pick up trash less often

They are making this too hard . We do not have a shortage of land fills, if we did we would not allow Washington garbage in Oregon's land fill.

I wonder how much energy it takes to do all the recycling we do and is it more energy than just throwing it away.

""

(email verified)

Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 07:49 AM

Re: City hoping to pick up trash less often

Another reason why the Northwest remains a provincial backwater. In South Florida, garbage is picked up TWICE EACH WEEK!

Maybe dirty hippies don't mind storing trash in their homes, but civilized people do.

While Portland shells out millions on eco-projects and other luxuries, BASIC urban services such as trash pick up get preened. No city can survive long-term without strong basic service provisions.

"SMG"

(email verified)

Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 03:48 PM

Re: City hoping to pick up trash less often

Cool, I'm moving to Florida so I can buy more junk, throw it away, and drive with more garbage trucks on the road! Sounds like paradise.

"Backwater Bill"

(email verified)

Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 09:23 PM

Re: City hoping to pick up trash less often

I'm so excited!

I can't wait to find out how much my monthly garbage bill will be going down once the trashman starts providing even less service.

"Portland-Wierd Enough Already"

(email verified)

Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 01:07 AM

Re: City hoping to pick up trash less often

Do any of the folks downtown have young grand children visit? I can tell you that you don't want a couple of poop filled diapers setting in your garage for two weeks in the summer. You are tempting folks to put them in the lawn recycle container and since the carts will be picked up and dumped by machine, no one will know where they came from. Oregon needs to get real and provide this vital sanitary service on a frequent basis. What is next in their green minds, alternate day flushing of toilets?

"Sanitary needs first"

(email verified)

Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 11:49 AM

Portland - hey, it's clean enough pretty much!

I guess having a functional "Department of Sanitation" was a bit too "Big Government" for whoever was running the show this past few decades. How about we take some "Personal Responsibility" for our trash and just require citizens to get rid of it themselves?