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September I, 2010
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Sustainability,
New equipment at the Metro Central Transfer Station diverts trash from going into landfills and doubles the recycling rate.
Metro Boosts Recycling Rate
Recovers dry
waste for reuse
in new ways
Four months after taking over
management o f the Metro Central
Transfer Station in northwest Port
land, Recology Oregon Recovery,
Inc. is close to meeting its first-year
goal o f doubling the recycling rate, waste recovery goal o f 34 percent . The firm also is working hand-in-
divertingtrash hauled to the facility by November.
hand with the Portland-based, sus
from going to landfills.
Recology installed a new, el tainable, green construction non
When the company took over evated sorting line at the facility in profit organization, The ReBuilding
the contract to operate the publicly- June, greatly improving the ability Center, and St Vincent De Paul foun
owned Metro Central Station on o f workers to pull materials from the dation in an effort to divert residual
April 1, the annual average recy waste stream. The recovered waste materials and discarded items.
cling rate was just over 17 percent. is being sent to other local proces
The diverted residual material
At the end o f July, the rate had sors and the company’s own facili includes cardboard from packag
increased to just over 26 percent. ties in the Portland area for recy ing, along with renovation, demoli
Recology is working towards a cling.
tion and construction debris like
Take Action Get Tested
Rebates for Efficient
Home Appliances
I
Multnomah County Health Department's
HIV Community Test Site offers
confidential HIV testing
w ith or w itho u t your name
at these locations:
Downtown Com m unity Test Site
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Call 503.988.3775 for an appt.
Mon I Thurs | Fri |
426 SW Stark St., 6th Floor, |
Portland, 97204
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FP
with this coupon”
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Public Health
Pr««eat. »r*'.* Prwaet
Health Department
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Northeast Health Center
Just walk in
Tuesdays 15:30-7:15 pm j
5329 NE MLK Jr. Blvd, 2nd Floor, |
Portland, 9 7 2 1 1 1
Se habla español: other interpretation by appointment
wood and yard debris, metals, glass,
sheetrock, plastics, carpet and car
pet padding; and inert material such
as concrete, brick and tile.
Recology employs 12 sorting
personnel to staff the operation six
days per week for eight hours each
day. Sort line employees help divert
an estimated 26,000tons o f dry waste
per year.
Oregon is expanding its State
Energy Efficient Appliance Re
bate Program to include addi
tional appliances.
The state started offering re
bates to qualifying homeowners
for replacement of low-efficiency
furnaces and heat pumps with
Energy Star appliances this year.
The program has now been ex
panded to include rebates for
qualified Energy Star water heat
ers, refrigerators, dishwashers
and clothes washers.
"Replacing an aging or dys
functional home appliance in
creases long-term energy effi
ciency, lowers consumption and
reduces energy costs in the
home," says programs coordina
tor Melissa Torgerson. "This is
particularly important for low-
income O regonians, who are
spending an increasingly dispro-
portionate amount of their house
hold budgets on home energy
bills."
O re g o n 's fu n d in g com es
from the U.S. Department of
Energy, which provides Ameri
can Recovery and Reinvestment
Act funds for states to provide
rebates for acceptable appli
ances to hom eow ners whose
annual household income is 60
percent or less o f the statewide
median.
Interested Oregonians can con
tact Oregon Housing and Com
munity Services at 1-800-453-
5511 to learn about the program
and apply for a rebate voucher.
Qualified homeowners may re
deem vouchers for 70 percent of
the purchase price, up to a speci
fied maximum. Old appliances
must be legally recycled in order
to receive rebate funds.