Recycling Advocates
Phone: (503) 777-0909
http://www.recyclingadvocates.org | info@recyclingadvocates.org
The Issues
To maintain Oregon’s natural beauty and the human health of its residents, we must conserve our natural resources and minimize extraction of raw materials through resource conservation. Recycling Advocates focuses on the 3 R’s of waste prevention (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). We encourage greater product stewardship, educate citizens and professionals about waste prevention, and inform members and the public about legislation and policies that affect waste prevention in Oregon.
Key Recent Accomplishments
- Recycling Advocates closely monitored the Bottle Bill legislation (SB707) and the E-waste legislation (HB2626) as the bills progressed through both houses. RA kept its members informed and recruited their testimony to encourage passage of both bills.
- RA continued to submit testimony and statements on key issues and plans from Metro, DEQ, City of Portland, and other regional jurisdictions.
- RA began working with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation to increase collection in Oregon.
- RA continued to elevate the visibility of key issues in recycling and waste prevention through publications, monthly newsletters, our web site, informational displays, and special events.
- RA continued its involvement with the Master Recycler Program, training community volunteers.
Major Current Goals
- Members of Recycling Advocates, Metro, and the DEQ began regular meetings in January 2008 to establish partnerships and plans for action in order to increase the participation in rechargeable battery recycling programs run by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC). The goal of this collaborative project is to increase the ways to inform citizens about the issues regarding the disposal and recycling of rechargeable batteries, promote the drop-off locations for such recycling opportunities as well as to increase the visibility of these programs at participating locations.
- Continued advocacy of beverage container recycling and recovery through an enhanced bottle bill.
- A plastic bag ban and bag recycling efforts will be a central goal for RA during 2008.
- Removal of PLA plastic bottles from local store shelves is another of RA's near term goals.
3R’s Outreach and Education
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle make up the 3R’s of waste prevention. Outreach and education remain key strategies for involving people in creating a sustainable future through preventing waste. Recycling Advocates reaches out to citizens in a variety of ways.
Monthly Newsletter
The monthly Recycling Advocates Newsletter remains our most popular publication due to its original articles as well as news gathered from other waste prevention organizations on local, regional, national and international topics. This year, the newsletter included original articles on Oregon’s E-waste and bottle bill legislation, holiday waste prevention ideas, waste generation and diversion statistics, and many other issues. The newsletter also provides resources for education and citizen-based legislative action, and a calendar of related events. It is sent to members, hard copies are distributed at points around the Metro area and it is available to all on the RA website.
RA Website
Our website is a key communication tool for members and nonmembers alike. This year, it was a resource for current details, rallies and testimony opportunities for the two major pieces of legislation of interest to the recycling community. The expanded bottle bill legislation generated a lot of interest among our members, and the website provided talking points.
Tabling at Events
This year member volunteers presented RA’s educational displays and materials to hundreds of people at the Association of Oregon Recyclers Education Conference, the City Repair Project’s Earth Day Event, the Multnomah County Fair, community college events in the region, and luncheon discussions at various businesses.
Supporting Master Recyclers
Master Recycler Program graduates received the RA newsletter for free for a year following their graduation, keeping them updated on new developments in waste prevention. Betty Patton, Wayne Rifer, and Katy Daily presented to Master Recycler classes throughout the year.
Special Events
We organize a special event each year in conjunction with our annual member meeting.
Citizen Voices
RA member volunteers represented Recycling Advocates and the “voice of the citizen” on a number of advisory boards over the year.
Portland Recycles!
The City of Portland has researched and analyzed a variety of changes to both residential curbside and commercial collection of recyclables. The City convened two task forces to discuss these approaches. RA had a representative on the residential as well as on the commercial teams to encourage the City to maximize its diversion percentage. The residential task force’s recommendations will be implemented in 2008. Changes to the commercial system are still being discussed.
Other Boards and Organizations
Recycling Advocates continues to work with a number of other organizations to promote waste prevention policies and behaviors. A partial list of our collaborative partners includes: Association of Oregon Recyclers, Earth Share of Oregon, Master Recycler Program, Oregon Conservation Network, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, OSPIRG, and the Northwest Waste Prevention Coalition.
Citizen and Legislative Action
Central to our mission is the engagement of citizens in waste prevention policy and practices. To assist our efforts to keep Oregon at the forefront of waste prevention policies, Recycling Advocates continues its relationship with the Oregon League of Conservation Voters’ Oregon Conservation Network (OCN). RA participated in OCN’s selection of shared environmental priorities for the conservation community in last years Legislative session, and our e-waste legislation topic was included in OCN’s Priorities for a Healthy Oregon.
Electronic Waste Recycling
E-waste legislation to offer computer and television recycling to residents was studied and attempted for many years in Oregon. RA was at the forefront of this issue back in 2000. Because of RA’s leadership and experience with this issue, many RA board members were active advocates for this solution. RA members and members wrote and published newsletter articles, wrote letters to the editor, and talked with their elected officials at length about the need for a legislated approach. Years of RA’s efforts resulted in the bill passing unanimously in both houses.
Bottle Bill Expansion
For 35 years, Oregon has had a deposit on carbonated and malt-based beverage containers. During the 2007 legislative session SB707 was introduced and eventually passed. This law expands the beverages covered under container deposit legislation and creates a task force to discuss further implementation. RA members attended hearings, testified when appropriate, and wrote articles for our newsletter. RA members also contacted their elected representatives to encourage passage of this bill signed into law in June 2007.
