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Portland Has Innovative Approach to Debris Handling |
by Shelley Ross In March of 2006, Reader's Digest conducted an analysis of what makes for a clean city. Portland, Oregon, topped the list. Here is information on their innovative approach to debris disposal.
Portland Has Innovative Approach to Debris Disposition
Reader's Digest magazine's Cleanest City in America for 2006, Portland, Oregon, is always on the lookout for ways to reuse, recycle, and save money. Jill Jacobsen, environmental supervisor for the city's Department of Transportation, described some of DOT's challenges and her section's efforts to find solutions that meet these criteria.
"Our latest projects have involved developing more ways of making use of leaf debris in city projects, which would keep them from clogging the landfill and save on tipping fees at the same time. We already have a leaf-composting program at our Sunderland Yard facility, and sell that material to the public for home use. However, we are hoping to make further use of these leaves by combining them with sweeping debris from residential and arterial streets, which we would treat in a similar manner for six to eight weeks, and employ this mixture in the city's right-of-way maintenance projects, sewer line repair reseeding, and the like," said Ms. Jacobsen. Primary challenge: The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality sets different standards for street-sweeping debris from many other states. In Oregon, such debris is classified as solid waste, whereas in many other states such material is screened and then used as erosion control, or soil amendment in right-of-way projects. In an effort to find a better result for Portland's debris, Ms. Jacobsen's division has been conducting a pilot project that investigated the use of enzymes for their effects on such material. While the enzyme-treated piles did not surpass the control pile in quality, they did demonstrate an overall acceptability for the material. 
In accordance with best management practices, the blended material will be reserved for right-of-way projects, medians of the freeway, or heavy traffic areas, rather than sensitive areas such as schoolyards or individual use. DOT has management plans for tracking sources and blending options, and intends to maintain a quality-monitoring program for this blended material. "What we're saying is that the street-sweeping debris is similar to leaf debris in how we collect it and treat it, and blending those two products is an option. We can save room in our landfills and save the city money at the same time. This is a good result for everybody," said Jacobsen. You may reach Jill Jacobsen via email sent to jill.jacobsen@pdxtrans.org. Her phone number is 503-823-4409. Click here to go to the main article on Portland being featured as Reader's Digest's cleanest city in America for 2006. |
 © 2006 World Sweeper
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