Conditional Material Disposal Questionnaire 

China prohibit the import of certain mixed paper and plastic grades beginning on January 1, 2018. Additionally, China has announced a new and exceedingly stringent recyclable contamination standard of 0.5 percent. China has been the main market for Oregon’s recyclable mixed paper and plastic. This has created a condition where the primary market for the bulk of Oregon’s recyclable materials is severely constrained and in jeopardy of disappearing.

 

In an effort to meet the tightened contamination standards, recycling processing facilities have slowed their sorting lines. This has resulted in a slower throughput of materials. The flow of materials from Oregonians sent for recycling has not slowed to match this constraint. Without an outlet for the collected materials, sorting and storage capacity have become constrained. In some cases, processing and storage capacity have already been exceeded and recycling costs exceed disposal costs.

DEQ is working closely with representatives from the recycling industry and local governments on short-term stopgap solutions to help alleviate the flow of recyclable materials throughout the collection and processing system and support the ongoing recycling of materials to the extent possible. When all options to find processing capacity or markets for certain materials have been exhausted, DEQ concurs that landfilling some of those materials on a temporary basis is an unfortunate but necessary option.

 

The following questions will guide you to a determination on appropriate material handling, and provide DEQ with helpful decision and policy making information.

 

 

Northwest Region	Matt Slafkosky	541-298-7255 x.236
Western Region (Eugene)	Cathy Brown	541-687-7325
Western Region (Salem)	Cathie Rhoades	503-378-5089
Eastern Region	Matt Slafkosky	541-298-7255 ext. 236