Oct. 23, 2009                                                                                                                         

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Roy Kaufmann

Office of Mayor Sam Adams

503.823.4799

Cheryl E. Kuck

Portland Bureau of Transportation

503-823-5552

Mayor Adams brings back limited leaf depot service

Depots face declining demand, budget pressures 

(Portland, OR) – Mayor Sam Adams announced today that the Bureau of Transportation is re-instituting some leaf depots this year, rather than eliminating the service entirely. During this year’s leaf season, there will be four leaf depot locations. Beginning Saturday, November 14, three depots will be open for each of three weekends for the public to deposit their leaves for a fee.

“Budget cuts have made this a difficult year for many city services,” said Mayor Adams. “We can’t afford to bring all depots back and keep them open every weekend, but we have revised the program to provide some service and selected locations across the city to best serve residents.”

Although limited leaf drop-off services will be provided this year, Mayor Adams is advising Portlanders to be prepared for depots to be cut in the future. He explained that even with a revised fee schedule this year, the City does not anticipate recovering all of this year’s operating costs for the depots. Leaf pickup was ranked near the bottom of priorities when Portlanders were asked to rank Transportation services, a factor considered by the Bureau’s Budget Advisory Committee in considering which services to recommend scaling back or cutting.

Last year, the City of Portland lost nearly $100,000 operating six leaf depots with a schedule that kept two depots open every weekend for seven weeks. This year’s depot fees will be higher than last year’s -- $5.00 per car load and $10.00 per truck, SUV, or trailer.  Over the past decade, the City has seen a significant decline in the use of leaf depots, due partly to a combination of increased use of home yard debris composting and curbside pickup. Records at the City’s Sunderland Recycling Facility, where the leaves are hauled and turned into high-quality compost, show that 3,672 cubic yards of leaves were collected from leaf depots in 2008. This is down from 4,951 cubic yards in 2007.

2009 LEAF DEPOT DATES AND LOCATIONS

Depots open at 9:00 a.m. and close at 4:00 p.m.

2009 Leaf Depot Locations

• Lents Park – SE 92nd and SE Holgate, in the eastside parking lot
• Stanton Yard – 2929 N Kerby, west of Emanuel Hospital
• Westmoreland Park – SE 22nd and SE Nehalem, in parking lot next to the baseball field
• Gabriel Park – SW 42nd and Vermont, in the upper parking lot

Only leaves will be accepted. No other yard debris will be allowed. Please contact Metro Recycling at 503-234-3000 or use your curbside yard debris container for this material.

2009 Leaf Depot Fees

• $5.00 per car load
• $10.00 per truck, SUV, or trailer load
• $20.00 per truck and trailer (5 cubic yard maximum)
• No commercial loads - these individuals will be referred to small local businesses, commercial recycling centers, or Metro.

For more information, plus the City’s street leaf removal schedule, visit www.portlandonline.com/transportation/leafremoval.