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For years, Western Oregon Waste (WOW) has asked customers to separate recyclable materials when they set them out for collection. Times change, and apparently, so do those guidelines.
You can now mix your newspapers, magazines, tin cans, aluminum, plastic bottles and cardboard together – placing them loose in your recycling bin. There is no longer a need to separate these items from each other. Glass bottles and jars are still recyclable at the curb, but they do need to be separated from the other materials. You can use a paper (not plastic) bag, or a reusable container, such as a plastic bucket or wastebasket. There is no need to separate glass by color. Place the bag/bucket of glass inside your recycling bin when you set it out at the curb on your service day.
Motor Oil is also recyclable curbside (except for Cannon Beach). Motor Oil needs to be set out next to your bin in a clear plastic jug with a tight-fitting lid – milk jugs work best.
WOW is also using a different kind of truck to handle collection duties. All the mixed materials will go into the main hopper, and the glass and oil will go in separate storage compartments on the trucks.
WOW wants to assure customers that their materials are still being recycled. Because the collection vehicles look similar to garbage trucks, they will feature magnetic signs indicating that they are collecting recycling. The mixed materials will be reloaded into large boxes at WOW’s Recovery Zone on Williamsport Road in Astoria, then transported to sorting facilities in the Portland area. There, the different materials will be sorted, and will then be sent to mills to be made into new products.
Different versions of this sorting program have been implemented around Oregon, with great success. According to WOW's Operations Manager, “Less sorting makes it easier for customers to recycle. We think that we will also see more people choose to recycle – some people felt that sorting their material was too time-consuming before.” The combined result should be an increase in the amount of recyclables Clatsop County residents divert from the landfill.
Eligible customers (WOW customers who live inside the city limits of Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside, Gearhart, and Cannon Beach) will receive a flyer explaining the new program. If you have any questions, please give WOW a call at 503.861.0578.
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