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Subscribing to recycling Photo by Jim Craven Rogue Disposal employees Gary Royse, left, and John Landers separate recyclable materials at the transfer station in White City. A pilot program will expand recycling options for some Medford residents. Rogue Disposal tests optional service to raise reuse rate By PAUL FATTIG Monday was a red-letter day for east Medford resident Dale Childress. That was the day a Rogue Disposal & Recycling truck picked up his 65-gallon recycling can, the one with the red lid. It's part of a pilot program started this month in his east Medford neighborhood to increase recycling while reducing the amount of garbage heading to the landfill. The can with the red lid held a variety of recyclable items, which are picked up every two weeks. Nearby was a 95-gallon can with a green lid, which Childress will use solely for yard debris which is recycled into compost. "This is a good idea -- these dumps aren't going to last very long if we don't do something," the retired logger observed while trimming a pine tree in his front yard. "We all need to help with recycling. "They've got to do something with this green stuff instead of just putting it in the dump," he added. "They can compost it." The pilot program is currently limited to east Medford in the area between Delta Waters and Cedar Links. There are about 900 customers in the target area and about 250 have signed up for the program. Each customer subscribing to the program receives three heavy-duty plastic cans on wheels, including the usual gray one for solid wastes. The 65-gallon roll cart with the red lid will be picked up every two weeks. Into that can Childress tosses recyclable items like tin cans, magazines, newspapers, plastic milk jugs, corrugated cardboard and glass bottles. On alternating weeks, the 95-gallon rolling can with the green lid will be picked up. It's for nothing but Childress' yard debris, which includes leaves, lawn clippings and tree trimmings. "We're trying to divert more waste away from our landfils," said Don Cordell, disposal oprations manager. "And we're trying to make it more convenient for our customers for our yard wastes and for commingled recycling. If the pilot program, which is scheduled to be tested for about a year, proves successful, it will be offered to the rest of the service area in the next two to three years, Cordell said. Medford now has a 34 percent recycling rate, recycling some 40,000 tons of trash a year. But that falls short of the 50 percent rate the Oregon Legislature estabished in 1996 for the year 2000. Statewide, the rate is 36 percent. Portland's recycling level is a little less than 42 percent. "No one is making 50 percent yet," Cordell said of Oregon cities. "Instead of setting a numerical goal, we are trying to implement actions that we think will increase the recycling percentage to the greatest level." There is no penalty for cities which fail to reach the 50 percent level, he noted. Medford's costs are about $15 more a ton for recycling materials than for Eugene or Portland because of the cost of trucking the material north, Cordell said. The cost for the optional service is $3.50 a month. Residential customers in Medford who are not involved in the pilot program are charged $11.90 monthly for trash pickup. Cordell noted that the recyclable materials in the red-lidded can do not have to be sorted by the homeowners. That will be done at the transfer station in White City. Yard debris to be recycled into compost can include wood material up to 2 inches in diameter and 36 inches long. "Yard debris includes grass, rhododendrom clippings," Cordell said. "Anything that grows can go in here." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA