Metro News

Go to the main menu
Go to the search form

Latest news

2 days ago

Get rolling this May with the 2025 Bike Month Challenge

1 week ago

Public notice: Opportunity to comment on Recology Suttle Road solid waste facility license renewal

1 week ago

Public notice: Opportunity to comment on GrayMar Environmental Services, LLC solid waste facility license application

1 week ago

Public notice: Opportunity to comment on Ingenium Troutdale solid waste facility license application

1 week ago

Public notice: Opportunity to comment on WasteXpress solid waste facility license application

1 week ago

Public notice: Opportunity to comment on pending amendment to the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Plan

Filter News Articles

Date

Portland region sees decline in recycling and composting rate

Dec. 15, 2015 12:05 p.m.

Nearly 60 percent of what Portland-area residents and businesses threw away in 2014 was recovered through recycling, composting or energy generation. And while that number is 10 percentage points higher than it was a decade ago, the 2014 calculation also marks the region’s first decline in nearly a decade.

Mill closure prompts Metro Council to change wood waste recycling rules

By Nick Christensen

Nov. 13, 2015 1:38 p.m.

Treated wood in the back of a pickup truck.

The move to suspend part of the Metro Code came after the closure of a paper mill in Newberg. That mill burned about 350 tons of the Portland region's wood waste every day, keeping that wood from being buried in a landfill.

Washington delegation tours MetroPaint to see recycling in action

By Brandi Boyett

Nov. 6, 2015 2:12 p.m.

Sorting paint at the MetroPaint facility on Swan Island on Oct. 30, 2015.

Metro's MetroPaint recycling program, on Swan Island in Portland, processes more than 255,000 gallons of paint each year. That drew the interest of a delegation from Olympia, which toured MetroPaint on Oct. 30.

Packed house hears the past and future of landfills at historical society event

By Brandi Boyett

Nov. 5, 2015 4:41 p.m.

A packed house listens as panelists discuss the past and future of landfills at the Let's Talk Trash event Nov. 4, 2015 at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland.

Where has our trash has gone, where is it going, and what should be done next about it? A panel of experts addressed these questions at a Let’s Talk Trash event at the Oregon Historical Society Wednesday night.

Turning nature into the classroom

By Jodi Garber-Simon

Nov. 5, 2015 12:37 p.m.

two children looking through trees at a river in the distance

This is the first year many students have had the opportunity to attend a five-night experience since 2009, when recession-fueled belt-tightening cut many outdoor school programs to just two nights. At that time, Metro stepped in to provide funding to cover one day of outdoor school, helping keep the program alive in the Portland region.

Effective Sunday: Changes to acceptance standards for wood waste and yard debris

Oct. 30, 2015 12:34 p.m.

wood waste loaded into the bed of a pickup

Starting Sunday, Nov. 1, customers at Metro South transfer station in Oregon City and Metro Central transfer station in Northwest Portland will see significant changes in what and how they can bring wood waste and yard debris to the facilities.

Newberg mill closure impacts wood recycling in the Portland region

Oct. 27, 2015 9:51 a.m.

On Oct. 15, the WestRock paper mill in Newberg announced it would close indefinitely on Nov. 15. That facility, formerly known as the SP Paper Mill, received approximately 85 percent of the greater Portland area’s recovered wood, burning much of it to fuel its boilers that produced both steam and electricity for the plant.

6 cities making energy from trash

By Rebecca Koffman

Oct. 6, 2015 3:53 p.m.

Photo of Maishima waste treatment center

Trash makes energy all over the world. Here are a few more interesting examples, including one in Austria whose bold design made it a tourist attraction, one in development in Copenhagen that will host winter ski slopes on the roof, and even one in Oregon.

Powering homes with garbage

By Rebecca Koffman

Oct. 6, 2015 12:31 p.m.

Oregon’s only trash incinerator is the backbone of Marion County’s waste management system, diverting 90 percent of the county’s trash from landfills and putting it to use creating electricity. By contrast, less than 10 percent of the garbage from the Portland region is currently converted to electricity. But that could change. The Metro Council is considering opportunities to use more garbage as a resource. One possibility could be using some of it to make electricity.

Where does your garbage go? The journey of trash

By Rebecca Koffman

Oct. 2, 2015 5:50 p.m.

In the Portland region in 2013, more than 64 percent of what businesses and residents threw away was recycled, composted or converted to energy. What was left over was a million tons of garbage. And all that trash has to go somewhere.

Portland'5 Presents and Chamber Music Northwest present 'The Crossroads Project: Rising Tide' with the Fry Street Quartet

Sept. 15, 2015 9:01 a.m.

Portland’5 Presents and Chamber Music Northwest is pleased to announce, The Crossroads Project, on Oct. 15, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in the Newmark Theatre.

Get rolling this May with the 2025 Bike Month Challenge

Portland region sees decline in recycling and composting rate

Mill closure prompts Metro Council to change wood waste recycling rules

Washington delegation tours MetroPaint to see recycling in action

Packed house hears the past and future of landfills at historical society event

Turning nature into the classroom

Effective Sunday: Changes to acceptance standards for wood waste and yard debris

Event: What our trash says when we're gone

Newberg mill closure impacts wood recycling in the Portland region

Short survey: Where should the garbage go?

6 cities making energy from trash

Powering homes with garbage

Where does your garbage go? The journey of trash

Professional stuntwoman cultivates a wildlife-friendly yard in Gresham

Portland'5 Presents and Chamber Music Northwest present 'The Crossroads Project: Rising Tide' with the Fry Street Quartet

Video: Moles, voles and gophers