40 Years of Curbside Recycling in Oregon: What’s Next?
Where it started: Curbside Recycling in Oregon
Our Bottle Bill was one of OEC’s first big policy wins. Enacted in 1971, the Bottle Bill put into place an incentive for people to return glass and aluminum which began to change the way that Oregonians thought about the downstream impacts of the products they used every day and the practical ways they interacted with waste.
Then in 1983, a small group of determined Oregonians successfully pushed for the passage of SB 405, which enacted statewide curbside recycling for a wide array of waste materials. The law also included a mandate for cities over a certain size to offer curbside recycling – all with the hard-won support of garbage haulers, landfill operators, and industry.
Excerpt from Oregon Environmental Council’s newsletter, 1983
Over the decades, recycling has become a way of life for many Oregonians. By reducing the amount of energy and resources required to make new products, each year, it has cut pollution equivalent to taking 690,000 cars off the road.
With climate change impacts already upon us, curbside recycling is more important than ever. Sadly, the same oil industry that is a leading contributor to climate change is also generating unprecedented amounts of cheap plastics, virtually all of which are made from petroleum feedstocks. Plastic production is increasing by 4% annually, and is anticipated to double in just 18 years. By 2050, it will account for 15% of all global climate pollution.
Unfortunately, recycling plastics faces many serious system-wide issues. Among them:
- Too much plastic: Since plastic’s invention in the 1950s, more than 8.3 billion metric tons have been produced. The sheer volume of plastic waste is more than the global recycling system can handle, and the complex nature of plastic’s chemical makeup makes it especially difficult to recycle. Read more about the problem with plastics in OEC’s 2023 report The Plastics Lifecycle: An Environmental Health Disaster.
- Market forces: In cases where it’s too costly to return and process recyclable materials (for instance, certain types of plastics), waste items are diverted to landfills, with costly downstream consequences to ecosystems and public health.
- Misinformation: The ubiquitous recycle logo led consumers to believe that putting an item in the recycling bid meant it would be returned, processed, and recycled into something new. Unfortunately, and far too often, that’s not the case. Manufacturers who claim a piece of packaging is technically recyclable do so without knowing if facilities exist in certain places for certain materials. The burden of understanding a complex global recycling system unfairly falls to consumers.
- Harmful to health, harmful to workers: From oil extraction, to air toxics released during production, to disposal, plastics disproportionately harm communities of color, and low-income households.
An Evolution: Reduce & Reuse, not just Recycling
The way Oregonians interact with everyday products and waste materials must continue to evolve in ways that preserve ecosystems, protect human health, and reduce climate pollution.
Recent laws passed in 2021, 2022, and 2023 position Oregon as a national leader in reducing harmful and toxic materials, increasing the collection of recyclable materials, and eliminating single-use waste.
- PASSED: Senate Bill 582 (Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act) creates a producer responsibility program for plastic packaging and paper products, thereby expanding recycling services, starting in July 2025.
- PASSED: Senate Bill 1520 (Bottle Bill Expansion) expanded Oregon’s bottle bill to include boxed and canned wine containers, starting in July 2025.
- PASSED: Senate Bill 543 will phase out polystyrene foam foodware, packing peanuts, and coolers and prohibit the use of PFAS (the toxic substances nicknamed “forever chemicals” that harm our immune systems and liver and kidney functioning), in food packaging starting January 1, 2025.
- PASSED: Senate Bill 545 makes it easier for restaurants to provide reusable container options, no later than June 30, 2024.
Next step: the need for the right to repair
The longer products can last, the less impact on resources – and our pocketbooks. Oregon should adopt a “right to repair” bill that makes it easier to repair parts and fix electronics, rather than creating more waste. A bill was introduced in 2023 and we look forward to supporting its passage in 2024.
OEC’s work to advance meaningful, lasting environmental progress is made possible by people across the state who care about safeguarding Oregon’s future. Make a difference. Become a member of OEC today.
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