Sunderland Recycling Facility

9325 NE Sunderland Avenue

Portland, Oregon 

Information Hotline: 503-823-3500

Hours: 7:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Monday - Friday

 

The City of Portland is a leader in the sustainability and green building movement in the United States. The Portland Office of Transportation’s Bureau of Maintenance (BOM) has embraced the challenge of developing cost-effective methods to recycle materials generated when performing street maintenance operations. BOM’s recycling program is conducted at the City’s Sunderland Recycling Facility, and is designed to meet Portland’s sustainability goals by:

• Lowering tipping fees for the disposal of material

• Reducing the need to purchase virgin rock

• Offsetting operating costs through the sales of compost and recycled products

The capacity and efficiency of the Facility will improve with the implementation of each phase of the Master Plan.

Since the mid 1980’s, BOM employees have been experimenting with various techniques to economically recycle materials such as leaves, concrete, asphalt, and street-sanding rock. In 1997 BOM purchased a 20-acre site committed to this recycling effort.

At present, 30,000 to 50,000 cubic yards of material are processed annually at the facility. City crews use this material for maintenance and repair projects. Some of the recycled material, such as leaf compost, blended soil, and crushed rock, is sold to the public as part of BOM’s outreach program.

The next waste that BOM will process for reuse is street sweeping debris. The City of Portland generates approximately 25,000 cubic yards of street sweeping debris each year. Disposal of this material in a landfill impacts landfill capacity and in 2004 cost BOM over 1 million dollars in transportation and disposal fees.

In the summer of 2005 BOM partnered with other local transportation agencies to conduct a pilot project to determine treatment and reuse options of street sweeping debris. The results of the study are currently being reviewed and a second project focused on the reuse options of the material is being developed.

Recognizing the opportunity to meet additional sustainability goals, City Council approved the purchase of two additional parcels of land north of the current 20-acre facility in October 2004. This acquisition of 14 acres adds capacity of current programs and provides an opportunity for new programs.  The process of developing a Master Plan for the development and expansion of the Sunderland Recycling Facility included:

• meeting with current and potential stakeholders

• reviewing current Facility operations, traffic patterns and potential safety concerns

• documenting regulatory requirements for the site and specific activities

• developing phased implementation to meet budget needs and regulatory approval