Metro
503-797-1700503-797-1804 TDD
503-797-1797 fax
Feasibility of additional plastics in curbside recycling
Moore Recycling investigated the feasibility of adding additional plastic collection to the metro area curbside programs.
In 2005, Metro contracted with Moore Recycling to study the feasibility of adding additional plastic containers and film to the Portland-metro area curbside collection programs. The consultants focused on the long-term strength of the domestic and export markets for plastic containers and plastic film and bags. In addition, they analyzed processing issues, but only briefly touched on collection ones.
Report highlights
Curbside collection of plastic containers will only be an issue for those areas that do not use roll carts. Moore Recycling recommends adding containers to Metro’s curbside collection program. Adding plastic film to curbside collection will be a collection issue for those areas that do not use roll carts. In addition, the cost and capability to collect and process very clean curbside film are not well known. The long-term indicators for marketing film plastic are positive, including curbside film, if collection and processing issues can be addressed. Without further information about Metro-area recycling processors capabilities and processing contracts, Moore Recycling cannot make a recommendation about adding plastic film to Portland Metro’s curbside collection program.
For more information, contact Steve Apotheker at 503-797-1698 or apothekers@metro.dst.or.us
Related Documents
Files that are downloadable from this page
- Feasibility of adding plastic containers 158K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published December 4, 2007
To view PDF files, download free Adobe Reader. To translate PDF files into text to assist visually-impaired users, visit Access.Adobe.com.