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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, May 6, 2010 Page 5 Trash talk? No, it’s solid waste, recycling, hazardous waste, etc! Solid Waste Coordinator Roy Weedman What do you know about solid waste, the stuff that used to be called garbage? Colum- bia County’s new Solid Waste Coordinator, Roy Weedman, knows a lot about solid waste. With the new term comes new ways of handling, such as recy- cling, E-Cycling, and haz- ardous waste handling. Most of us know who picks up the garbage we put in our garbage can, because we pay their bill. Some of us are still getting used to curbside recy- cling. In the early days of curb- side recycling, paper/cardboard and glass, each had its own container. Many now have a big green rollcart and can combine metal, cardboard, some plas- tics, paper, even empty aerosol cans. Glass is separate, but all colors now go in the same bin. Since starting last Septem- ber, one of Weedman’s jobs is to oversee the Columbia Coun- ty Transfer Station, where the contents of our garbage cans and recycling are collected. An- other part of his job is handling Household Hazardous Waste events and disaster debris. He also took over Dump Stoppers; trying to keep people from (or catching people who are) dumping in the forests and off roads in Columbia County. His goal is to help everyone in Columbia County, “be re- sponsible for your waste. Hopefully this would deter peo- ple from illegally dumping their garbage and foster a sustain- able lifestyle that includes re- ducing what they purchase, reusing items, then recycling them once the product has used up all of its ‘life’,” Weed- man said. His job description includes education and out- reach regarding waste mini- mization, hazardous materi- als/waste, and recycling. Weedman also provided some specific information. E- Cycling is the program for recy- cling computers, computer monitors and televisions by tak- ing them to the county Transfer Station, 1601 Railroad Ave., St. Helens, on the last Saturday of the month from 8:00 a.m. to noon, when they also accept Hazardous Waste Materials. E- Cycling does NOT include mice or keyboards, printers, copiers, scanners, cell phones or other electronics or appliances. On the other hand, the Columbia County Transfer Station is open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and will take cell phones, keyboards, print- ers, fax machines, old phones and rechargeable batteries. Materials that shouldn’t go into the garbage can these days include paints, solvents, pesticides, herbicides, needles. These items, plus other chemi- cals, propane tanks, fluores- cent lamps and ballasts, batter- ies, used oil, gasoline/diesel, antifreeze, even fireworks, can and should be taken to the Co- lumbia County Transfer Station when they accept Hazardous Materials on the last Saturday of the month. And, yes, they take these hazardous items free of charge. With a degree in Environ- mental Studies from Portland State in 1999, Weedman has worked for a number of compa- Mayor, councilor now questioning Development Plan From page 4 this doesn’t feel right to me. My preference is to adopt the old one but incorporate the good stuff from this.” As a result, the 1997 plan, with changes, re- ceived a first reading at the May 3 meeting as a resolution. A number of resolutions or ordinances were adopted at the two meetings, including the fol- lowing: – The second reading of Resolution 864 – providing new standards and rules for the building code ordinances; – The first and second read- ings of Ordinance 865, vacat- ing a portion of the alley be- tween Maple and Cougar (where the FEMA trailers were); – Resolution 05-10 amend- ing 14-08 on the fee schedule for administrative and planning fees; – Resolution 06-10 declaring the Hillsboro Argus Courier- Mail to be the official newspa- per for the City of Vernonia, to be used for publishing public notices; – Resolution 14-10 estab- lishing new disposal fees. Waste Management has in- creased their garbage rates ef- fective April 1 and this resolu- tion allows the new rates to go into effect in Vernonia. The in- crease for one 32-gallon can per week went up by $1.20 per month, for example; – Approved a resolution de- claring two Vernonia Police ve- hicles surplus so they can be sold. In other business, council: • Asked City Administrator Bob Young to find funds of up to $3,000 to correct courtyard drainage and sidewalk prob- lems at the Vernonia Communi- ty Learning Center; up to $3,000 to seal cracks on the path around Vernonia Lake, and the amount needed to cod- ify ordinances. • Gave consensus for the Mayor to appoint Marilyn Nicks to the Economic Development Committee (EDC), where Nicks will act as liaison between the EDC and the newly formed Downtown Association. Nicks is president of the new associ- ation. • Asked Young to resolve the issue of DAD’s Recycling, by the end of July. At that time, the business would either need to be moved out of the floodway or closed. • Heard that a lease agree- ment has been worked out be- tween the city and the commu- nity garden group to allow the garden to be developed. • Denied a request by the Economic Development Com- mittee to reduce System Devel- opment Charges by 50% for new homes for the next 24 months or 24 homes, whichev- er occurred first. Citing the fact that most new homes cost over $200,000 and the amount in question would be just over $4000, council refused to set such a precedent. The next regularly sched- uled council meeting will be held May 17, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. nies in various recycling and solid waste positions. Before coming to Columbia County, he was working for the Port of Portland handling waste mini- mization and hazardous materi- als, in addition to recycling. When they downsized, the job was parceled out to other de- partments. Now he commutes from the home in Clackamas that he shares with girlfriend, Cynthia, three kids, two dogs, two cats, pet rats and lizards. Now, for answers to a couple of recycling mysteries. Why can’t we put plastic grocery bags in our recycle? They jam up the machine that sorts the combined recycling. Many gro- cery stores have containers just for that purpose, so take them back to those stores. Or, better yet, replace the plastic bags with your own reusable grocery bags. Next question – Do we still have to take off the paper and crush our cans? No, not with the new commingling of recy- clables. In fact, it is preferred that cans and containers, in- cluding milk cartons, not be crushed. The machine they go through expects flat items to be paper, so other items should have air space in them allowing the machine to sort them cor- rectly. Weedman’s final piece of advice on solid waste, “Try to be responsible for your waste – call me for help.” Weedman can be reached at 503-397- 7263 or email him at roy.weed- man@co. columbia.or.us .