Priority Indicator #3: Recovery Rate of Recyclable Materials

Contents: Background Information | Data Tables | Data Charts | Commentary | Download Data

Background Information

What Does This Indicator Mean?
This indicator measures the percent of disposed material that is recovered for reuse instead of being disposed.  Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality conducts an annual survey to determine the amount of material recovered by waste haulers and private recycling companies in each county.  The total amount of material generated is the sum of the material that is recovered and the material that is disposed.  The recovery rate is calculated as the amount (in tons) of material recovered, divided by the total amount of material generated.   

Other Risk Factors or Indicators to Consider
The information provided for this indicator is based on the Material Recovery Survey, which was mandated by the 1991 Legislature.  The Legislature set a 50% material recovery goal for Oregon for the year 2000. The state recovery rate survey includes only post-consumer materials collected for recycling, composting, or energy recovery. Waste from manufacturing and industrial processes (pre-consumer materials), reconditioned and reused materials, and out-of-state waste disposed in Oregon are excluded.

Materials recovered are divided into metals, paper, organics and other materials (including plastics). The 1999 recovery rate also included materials recycled, burned for energy recovery (tires, used oil, wood waste, and some yard debris), or composted (yard debris and some wood waste).  Commercial scrap metal, including demolition debris, discarded vehicles or parts of vehicles, major equipment, and appliances, handled by scrap metal dealers, is excluded.

Limitations of the Data
County recovery rates alone do not always provide the type of detailed information needed to determine how waste is managed in a county. Per capita disposal and recovery rates are useful for providing this information. Low disposal rates may reflect a low generation rate or a difference in waste disposal methods. Residents in rural areas might be more likely to dispose of their waste by burning it in burn barrels or by putting it on the “back 40” than in hauling it to a landfill. Waste disposed outside of permitted disposal sites is not measured and thus is not counted as waste disposed for the purposes of this study.

Due to the processing chain for recyclable materials and in order to determine recovery rates for individual wastesheds as well as the state as a whole, DEQ must survey multiple companies handling the same material. This means that the potential for double counting of materials is a major issue.

Data Sources

• Solid Waste Policy and Program Development, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)



• Marion County Department of Solid Waste Management
  


• Polk County Department of Solid Waste Management
  

Presentation and Description of Data

The table below shows the percentage of generated material that is recovered rather than disposed.

The chart below shows the percentage of material in Marion and Polk Counties that is recycled. 

Commentary

The recovery rate is somewhat higher in Marion County than Polk County.  The rate has increased slightly in both counties in recent years, with the exception of a drop in 1996 in Polk County.  In 2001, 50% of generated material was recovered in Marion County, and 39% of material was recovered in Polk County. 

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