Commissioners Get Recycling Update

Lincoln County’s Board of Commissioners received an in-depth briefing on how Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act is changing local recycling and composting programs, especially for rural communities along the coast. Local haulers – Thompson Sanitary, North Lincoln Sanitary, and Dahl Disposal – explained that they already operate under Oregon’s long‑standing Opportunity to Recycle Act, first passed in 1983. Each year, they must file detailed reports with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality documenting what services they provide, which programs they offer, and how they educate the public.

The Recycling Modernization Act, adopted in 2021 and now being implemented, adds new reporting requirements, new program elements, and access to state funding to help reduce contamination in recycling and improve education. One of the biggest changes is a universal statewide recycling list. The materials accepted in Lincoln County are now intended to match what is accepted in most other Oregon communities, bringing more clarity and consistency for residents who live, work, or travel between cities.

Aimme Thompson with Thompson Sanitary said “Over the years, it has been more and more things that we are required to report on you’re also going to see this year that there’s a lot of things highlighted in yellow because of the Recycling Modernization Act, which was passed in 2021 and went into effect this July 2025, and it puts additional requirements for us on there, as well as we have opportunity to get some funding so that we can educate and reduce contamination with recycling, because that is the goal.”

New categories of materials are now accepted in the mixed recycling stream, including cartons like broth and milk containers, additional rigid plastic containers such as five‑gallon buckets and kitty litter tubs, many plastic plant pots, and a wider range of small scrap metal pieces under a certain size and weight. Local haulers are also emphasizing their mixed compost service, which combines food scraps and yard debris, and they continue to remind residents to keep out contaminants such as compostable plastics and animal waste.

Haulers told commissioners that the transition has been a heavy administrative lift. Larger cities like Portland and Eugene have dedicated solid waste staff, while in rural counties, the local companies' staff and a small county solid waste office must absorb most of the new work. Even so, Lincoln County’s haulers believe the county is ahead of many other rural areas, largely because they coordinate closely with each other, with county solid waste director Paul Seitz, and with a DEQ representative who regularly attends the regional solid waste advisory committee meetings.

The Recycling Modernization Act is designed as a shared responsibility system. Haulers, local governments, and the state all play roles, but packaging producers are now required to pay into a producer responsibility organization that helps fund local education, standardized outreach materials, and upgrades to recycling facilities. The system also helps offset the higher transportation costs for rural haulers who must move materials long distances to recycling markets. The state is also vetting end markets to ensure that materials collected for recycling are handled responsibly, rather than being dumped or burned.

Thompson noted, “The packaging companies are now being responsible for the packaging that they create, and they’re having to pay into this system." She added, "Any haulers over 50 miles get some reimbursement for that transportation. In Oregon, we are really the leader in the nation. We are the first ones to come up with this, and there’s like eight or nine states that are watching how we’re implementing this and making notes.”

Locally, the haulers are investing heavily in outreach. They present to civic groups, realtors, and health agencies, participate in statewide recycling conferences, and partner with schools on “Follow the Waste” tours that take hundreds of middle‑school students to see where trash, recycling, and compost actually go. They have added staffed depots, expanded what is accepted at transfer stations, and recently started taking certain film plastics, such as clean plastic bags and flexible packaging, at depots where those materials can be kept separate and properly handled.

Commissioners thanked the haulers for their work and asked what residents can do to help. The haulers’ main message was that the public should stay interested, learn the updated recycling list, use the guides and apps provided by the companies, and contact their hauler when they have questions about how to properly recycle or dispose of difficult items. They emphasized that informed customers make the entire system more efficient, safer, and more sustainable for Lincoln County.