Recycling

A major expansion of Oregon’s Bottle Bill took a big step forward late Thursday afternoon.  The House Environment and Energy Committee approved it with a 4 to 3 vote.  Katy Daily of the Oregon League of Conservation voters says all the Democrats on the committee were in favor while all the Republican were opposed.

The bill, HB 2184, has three major sections.

First, it doubles the deposits on most bottled drinks from 5 cents to 10 cents.  The higher deposits don’t kick in until 2016 at the earliest.  If Oregonians do a better job of returning bottles, the goal is 80% by 2015, then the deposits stay at a nickel.

Next, it expands the list of drinks that will require deposits.  By 2013, we’ll be paying deposits on bottles of sports drinks, juice drinks, coffee and teas.  Wine, liquor and milk are not included.   Water bottles were added to the list earlier this year.

Finally, it creates a system of redemption centers so that grocery stores don’t have to handle the extra load of bottle returns all by themselves.

The House Environment and Water Committee takes another look at legislation to expand Oregon’s groundbreaking bottle bill.  Katy Daily of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters says she’s feeling confident the bill will be approved.

HB 2184 doubles the deposits on bottles from a nickel to a dime. It adds more containers to the list of those that will require deposits, including sports drinks, juice drinks, bottled coffees and teas. Water bottles were added to the list earlier this year.

During today’s session lawmakers will consider amendments to the bill, but Daily doesn’t expect major changes to what’s already been approved.  At last week’s hearing liquor and wine bottles were taken off the list, and the deposits won’t increase until 2015 at the earliest.

It also creates a system of redemption centers so that grocery stores don’t have to handle the extra load of bottle returns all by themselves.

The session starts at 3pm in Hearing Room D in the Capitol.

Here at the Habitat For Humanity ReStore in Portland, you wouldn’t know we’re in the middle of a recession.

The store front at SE Morrison and Water St.

Business is booming.

Director Joe Connell says the number of customers visiting the ReStore is up 15% to 20% in the past six months. While the store has long appealed to contractors and the do-it-yourself types, Connell also notices a lot more first time shoppers. “We’re seeing soccer Moms, business people and more middle income homeowners.” He says many of them are unemployed, or have a family member who’s out of a job.

One of the draws is finding a good deal on that sink, shelf, or flooring you’ve been looking for. Portland ReStore collects new and used materials from individuals and businesses, then sells them at a big discount.

Some of the new items for sale include shelves.

But there’s also the “green” aspect of buying from a place like this. By taking in material that might have gone into a landfill, Connell says Portland ReStore removes more than 1000 tons annually from the waste stream.

They’re trying to create a niche by focusing more on recovering leftover new materials.  During our visit we saw new rolls of carpet, tiles and hardwood moulding.  Connell says there’s nothing wrong with this stuff, but once a product is discontinued manufacturers are likely to throw it away.  Connell calls it “new salvage” and says it’s, “The greatest source of unclaimed waste.”

Connell believes his customers are not just looking for good deals. He says they’ve become “slower shoppers” who have more time to think about they’re buying and the impact it has on the environment.

When the newest Habitat ReStore opened recently in Vancouver, Connell says a lot of the customers were elderly people who remembered what it was like the last time the economy was this bad.  “They said it reminded them of the good old days,” he says, “when you went to each others’ barns to find what you needed.”

Proceeds from all the ReStores support the home building programs at Habitat For Humanity. He says during the seven years the Portland ReStore has been open, it’s raised enough money to build six homes in the metro area and 40 homes in El Salvador.

There are 15 Habitat ReStores in Oregon, you can find a list of them here.

Not everything we pour down the sink has to end up in the sewage system.  Gray water, the stuff that’s leftover from bathing, showering and doing the laundry, can be reused to irrigate lawns and gardens.

Here in the land of “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle” it’s ironic that recycling gray water is illegal.  But that may be about to change if HB 2080 continues to make progress in the legislature.  As the Oregon League of Conservation Voters notes on its blog, the bill passed the state House Monday by an overwhelming vote of 49-10.  The bill now moves to the state Senate.

The bill requires homeowners to get permits before installing gray water systems.  First, you’ll want to make sure that the gray water is separated from sewage.  Plus, you’ll want to make sure the gray water stays on your property and doesn’t end up in the gutters and storm sewers.

The OLCV says we use on average, 68 gallons of water a day.  About half of that could be recycled.  So think of the savings on your summertime water bills.

Here are some Gray Water tips from the West Virginia Extension Service.

• Never use gray water for direct consumption.
• Gray water should not be used directly on anything that may be eaten.
• Gray water should not be sprayed, allowed to puddle, or run off property.
• Use only water from clothes washing, bathing or the bathroom sink. Do not use water that has come in contact with soiled diapers, meat or poultry, or anyone with an infectious disease.

At the Habitat For Humanity ReStore in Portland, there’s about 20 pallets of new screws that normally would have gone to the landfill.

“There’s nothing wrong with them.” says Director Joe Connell. He says the manufacturer no longer wanted the screws because there was a problem with the packaging.

Now thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Department of Environmental Quality, Habitat ReStore hopes to keep a lot more “new” junk from being dumped. The money will be used to hire a marketing director who’ll spread the word among businesses that there’s a better way to get rid of leftover products. Instead of ending up in the landfill, these so-called “new salvage” items can be donated to ReStore where they’ll sold at a discount to the public.

“It’s amazing how much new stuff gets thrown away,” says Connell. Some are products with minor flaws, the stuff we typically think of us “scratch and dent”. But sometimes discontinued items are tossed out, too. Connell says last year he received 200 rolls of brand new carpet that was being discontinued because the company was changing colors.

The $50,000 from DEQ will be matched by other agencies, and a marketing firm will help ReStore develop a business model for “new salvage” items.  Connell says about 40% of the products they sell are new and hope to increase that to 60% in a couple of years.  If they succeed, that’s another 510 tons of stuff that won’t end up in the garbage.