Watch your waste this holiday

Oops. In 2015, Oregonians generated slightly more waste and recycled slightly less than in years past, according to DEQ. We created 2,553 pounds of waste per person, or about 7 pounds a day—and we recovered slightly less than half of that for recycling, energy or compost. That's not good news for our state's goal, also adopted in 2015, to recover 55% of our waste. But holiday season is a great time to make a real difference. Americans spend $228 billion every year on Christmas gifts and celebrations, and half of the paper we consume each year goes to wrapping and decorating consumer products. By sticking to a tight budget for trash, we ...