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Recycling more, tossing more Jackson County meets goals but lags behind state BY DANI DODGE So much for treading lightly: although Jackson County residents are chucking some of their recyclable items into bins, they also are continuing to stuff their garbage cans to the brims. Both the tons of garbage picked up, and the amount of the stuff recycled increased in 1998, according to a statewide study released Friday by the Department of Environmental Quality. Jackson County residents recycled 34 percent of their 136,337 tons of garbage in 1998. Josephine County residents did a little better, with 41 percent. Jackson County's 34 percent figure is the same as 1997, and 1996. It's up from 1992's figure of only 15 percent. Jackson County is required by law to recycle 25 percent, but has a new goal of 40 percent. "About 75 percent of counties were above or at their rate last year," said Judy Henderson, a spokeswoman for DEQ Solid Waste. "But, Jackson County has always met its goals and in that way they are doing their share as required by the Legislature." Statewide, there was an increase in recycling from 35.7 in 1997 to 37.3 percent in 1998. Still, Henderson was not optimistic that the state would meet its goal of a 50-percent recovery rate by 2000. "We have a long way to go," she said. The figures come from DEQ's seventh annual survey of garbage haulers and private recycling companies. Major types of material recovered include food, wood and yard waste, paper, metals, plastics, glass, used tires and used motor oil. Recycling saves energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, reduces need for new landfills, and prevents emissions of many air and water pollutants. If Oregon's total amount of materials recovered in 1998 was collected in standard-size garbage cans, it would fill about 42 cans per Oregonian. The amount disposed of would fill nearly 70 cans. DEQ officials stressed this isn't just soup cans and used tissues from people's homes. Only a small portion of waste is picked up at the curb -- a larger portion is produced at work. The rest is from other activities like eating out, shopping and medical visits. The total garbage generated per person in Jackson County in 1997 was 2,326 pounds. That increased to 2,406 pounds per person in 1998, Henderson said. Henderson said part of the reason for the statewide trend of throwing away more may be the improving economy, which allows people to buy more goods. Faster paced lives also contribute. "People use a lot of disposable packaging and convenience items," she noted. Yet, urban areas generally had higher rates of recycling than rural areas -- often due to the opportunities for recycling. The Portland area had a 43 percent recycling rate, while Lake County came in with only 8 percent. "In some respects we are still lucky to be at 34 percent," said Dan Murphy, recycling coordinator for Ashland Sanitary and Recycling. "We are a long way from market. We don't process any recycled materials here, but instead send them to Seattle and Portland and the Bay area." He noted that Jackson County doesn't have ongoing yard waste recycling like some metropolitan areas. Murphy said people need to look beyond the recycling bins to improve the local percentages. "Improving the numbers is tricky," he said. "I'm preaching pre-cycle: We need to stop buying so much and buy thoughtfully." He said people should buy items that incorporate recycled products, and think hard before purchasing over-packaged items. "When you shop you have to add another dimension in how you look at what you are buying -- it's not just fat and fiber, but how it's packaged," he said. "That's when you are really hard-core recycling." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA