Review and comment on the proposed administrative rules
Comments must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28. Send your comments via U.S. mail, email or fax to:
Food scraps policy comments
Metro
600 NE Grand Ave.
Portland, OR 97232
Fax: 503-797-1795
[email protected]
Include your name, contact information and company or organization, if applicable. Please note the sections of the rules your comments pertain to.
Public hearing
You can also share your views at a public hearing at Metro Regional Center on Wednesday, Sept. 26, from 9 to 11 a.m.
Metro has updated draft administrative rules to guide the implementation of its business food scraps separation policy, adopted by the Metro Council on July 26. The draft administrative rules are available for public comment through Friday, Sept. 28.
Under the policy, starting in March 2020, businesses that generate 1000 pounds or more of food scraps per week will be required to keep their food scraps separate from their garbage for collection. Businesses that generate such quantities of food scraps tend to be larger grocery stores, restaurants and other large food service businesses. Businesses that generate smaller quantities of food scraps will be phased into the collection requirement by September 2022.
Metro issued two previous drafts of administrative rules for this policy over the past year and received public comments that informed the current draft. The current draft of rules includes a section for “access to services payments” whereby Metro may, on a temporary basis, provide payments to waste haulers whose collection territories may not be within a reasonable proximity to food scraps transfer or processing facilities, in order to keep collection costs lower for the haulers and customers.
Metro welcomes written comments on the proposed rules by 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28. A public hearing on the draft administrative rules will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 26, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Metro Regional Center.
Following the public comment period, Metro’s chief operating officer will issue the final administrative rule language by the end of October.