Commitment to reducing waste through recycling, reuse and repair remains a widely held value in greater Portland. For decades, Metro and local governments have invested heavily in home recycling and composting programs, household toxics collection events, and home composting programs, which all keep waste from landfills. Communities across the region now seek solutions to a literal 鈥渂ig problem鈥� 鈥� bulky waste 鈥� or items that are too large to fit in home waste collection bins. A significant part of this waste is furniture. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans threw out over 24 million pounds of furniture and home furnishings in 2018, six times the amount measured in 1960.
In response, Metro鈥檚 2030 Regional Waste Plan calls on local governments and Metro to improve bulky waste services. Specific improvements include increasing the reuse, repair and donation of consumer products through partnerships with waste reduction organizations and investments in neighborhood scale reuse and repair services and infrastructure. It also calls for regularly occurring bulky waste collection services with an emphasis on serving people who live in apartments and lower income households. To achieve these goals, Metro has partnered with local governments, businesses, and nonprofits that promote reuse and reclamation 鈥� also known as the circular economy 鈥� to understand the scope and scale of the problem, and to propose possible solutions.
In 2022, Metro commissioned Start Consulting to produce the Metro Large Item Reuse Study. The study identifies gaps and opportunities for expanding large item reuse, calls for improving services for historically marginalized groups, and recommends strengthening relationships with local reuse organizations. 鈥淭here are so many gaps in today鈥檚 system, especially for renters,鈥� says Liz Start of Start Consulting. Start noted that at some bulky waste collection events, one must show a garbage bill to participate. Because property managers typically pay their buildings鈥� garbage bills, this policy bars renters from accessing these events. Renters may lack access to the right vehicle to haul items, making donating or disposing of them expensive or difficult.
Also, low-income renters may not be able to afford furniture that is durable enough to withstand everyday use and multiple moves, making their furnishings more likely to enter the waste stream. Start Consulting surveyed and interviewed 10 reuse and repair organizations about their impact on the economy and environment, and the challenges they face in delivering services. According to the study, these organizations kept an estimated 14,000 tons of large items out of the landfill in 2021. They also employed 1,600 people and generated an estimated $19 million in sales of large items.