Metro and the Oregon Historical Society are hosting a conversation about where our trash has gone in the past and opportunities for garbage in the future.
“What our trash says when we’re gone” is part of the ongoing “Let’s Talk Trash” series. The event, which will feature a panel of trash experts, takes place Nov. 4 and is free and open to the public.
Metro manages the Portland region’s garbage and recycling. Through a contract in place since the 1990s, nearly all of the region’s garbage – about a million tons a year – has gone to one of Waste Management’s landfills.
In 2019, that contract will expire. The Metro Council is exploring options for making the most out what we throw away.
“Most people don’t know where their trash goes,” said Metro spokesman Ken Ray. “The Let’s Talk Trash event is an opportunity to focus the conversation on landfills and to encourage people to voice their opinions on options for the future of garbage.”
A panel of speakers, facilitated by Oregon Historical Society executive director Kerry Tymchuk, will discuss where trash from the Portland region has been and where it’s going.
Panelists include Dennis O’Neil, who worked at Metro for 24 years. He’ll cover how waste used to be handled and where it is currently buried, even within Portland city limits.
Steve Greenwood, who was an official at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in the 1980s, when drastic changes in the way trash was managed were taking place, is also on the panel.
“I’m going to describe what I still consider a kind of revolution in how we think and talk and manage and pay for solid waste management in this state,” Greenwood said. “Oregon really was a national leader in that respect.”
Panelist Tim Spencer, who works for DEQ today, will talk about the future of garbage and a reframing of how we think about what we do with it.
And Jen Fuller, a participating artist from Metro’s GLEAN art program, will also be on hand to share what she’s learned from working first-hand with what people throw away. GLEAN enlists five local artists each year to create art from waste that is discarded at Metro Central transfer station.
“What our trash says when we’re gone” is free and open to the public, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Nov. 4 at the Oregon Historical Society, 1200 SW Park Avenue in Portland. Visitors can RSVP on Facebook but pre-registration is not required.