8A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • MARCH 1, 2019
Recycle
from A1
way and there’s always a cost
associated with that,” said Tim
Alverson, Manager of Cottage
Grove Garbage Service. “It
boils down to economics.”
Companies have to weigh
the worth of taking curbside
materials and the reliably
high number of soiled mate-
rials among plastics has some
choosing not to accept it.
While some municipalities
like Eugene and Springfield
allow certain plastics in their
commingle containers, others
have stopped.
“For example, here in Cot-
tage Grove, we no longer take
plastics at the curbside,” said
Alverson. “And that’s actual-
ly that case for Junction City,
Florence, Oakridge – they’re
no longer taking plastics ei-
ther. There’s just simply no
market for this stuff.”
To address the pile up of
plastic, occasional round-
ups are held throughout the
county, like one currently
scheduled for April 7 at the
Water
from A1
sanitary surveys. The bill au-
thorizes OHA to adopt a sched-
ule for these remuneration fees
based on the size and type of
each water system and allows it
a limited increase in fees once
per year.
There are concerns that
this new structure may place
a greater financial burden on
cities by increasing opera-
tional costs.
This one-two punch to wa-
ter suppliers has seen a state-
wide reaction. Organizations
such the Oregon Water Util-
ity Council and the League
of Oregon Cities have argued
on behalf of the affected wa-
ter communities while local
municipalities have been pe-
titioning their legislators to
find funding.
Glenwood Transfer Station
in Eugene. In anticipation
of the event, Cottage Grove
Garbage Service is collect-
ing #2, #4 and #5 plastics
until the end of March,
joining several other col-
lection sites around Lane
County.
Plastics must be brought
to the Cottage Grove ad-
dress at 2055 Getty Court,
cleaned and sorted.
For the rest of year, the
Cottage Grove Garbage
Service has compressed its
recycling rules to three core
instructions for residents:
• Commingle only these
items in the recycle bin:
paper, phone books, mag-
azines, catalogs, junk mail,
newspaper, box board, foil
and tin or aluminum cans.
Cardboard it is to be flat-
tened and placed in or next
to the bin.
• Set these items next to
the bin: Glass (food and
beverage glass only) with-
out lids, caps or corks. Used
engine oil must be placed in
the original plastic contain-
“We are lobbying our rep-
resentatives to bring that for-
ward during the legislative
session and get it attached as
an amendment for some bill
somewhere to provide funding
for us to do that mandatory
regulative testing,” Pardee said.
“So we’re hoping that happens.”
Representing Cottage Grove,
Stewart and Pardee traveled
to Salem to attend a legislative
symposium and visit the offic-
es of state legislators Sen. Floyd
Prozanski and Rep. Cedric
Hayden where concerns were
shared and left with staff aids.
The symposium provided
an opportunity to ask a repre-
sentative from OHA [WHO?]
what would happen should
cities’ funding concerns fall on
deaf ears.
“He said he didn’t know
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and that he would check on it,”
Pardee said.
The OHA representative was
also asked what water suppliers
er no larger than 5 quarts,
but no transmission fluid,
cooking oil or antifreeze
is allowed.
• Clean all material:
This means no food res-
idue in glass or tin cans,
no soiled paper or card-
board, no wax-coated
material and no lids or
caps.
Plastic or contaminat-
ed material will be left
curbside.
Getting people to fol-
low these instructions,
though, is not a goal
without its challenges.
“There’s a lot of wishful
recycling,” Alverson said.
“In spite of the fact that
it’s explicitly expressed
what’s taken at the curb-
side, people still just try
to put things out that they
feel should be recycled.”
Ultimately, Alverson
said, the system requires
an attention to detail
and a degree of common
sense on the part of waste
generators.
“Trying to get people
to follow instructions will al-
ways be the challenge,” Alver-
son mused. “So you’re really
just talking about human na-
ture and the vast differences
among folks.”
Still, Lane County’s repu-
tation for being environmen-
tally conscious may take it
far along that road. It’s lead-
ership among Oregon coun-
ties speaks to the desires of a
community aiming for green-
er living.
“While we are doing great
recycling in Lane County, that
alone will not get us to our
goal,” said Orlandini in the
Waste Management Division’s
press release. “We must help
our community prevent the
waste from occurring in the
first place.”
The new recycling guide
is available on the county’s
website at lanecoun ty.org/
government/county_depart
ments/public_works/waste_
manage ment/recycling.
Details about the plas-
tic roundup can be found at
www.lanecounty.org/plastics-
roundup.
should do about the lack of ap-
proved labs in the state.
“He didn’t have an answer,”
said Pardee. “We’re holding our
breath waiting for him to get
back to us.”
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