Last Chance to Say NO to Food Waste in Lents!

The Oregonian Editorial Board says NO to Recology in Lents!

City doesn’t need Lents site! Check out this map. >>

A San Francisco-based garbage company, Recology, was recently approved by the City Council for permission to process rotten food and meat on SE 101st, right next to Johnson Creek and bordered by the Lents Community, Mt. Scott, and the Springwater Trail.

Increased truck traffic, noise, dust, pollution, and disease-carrying vermin are sure to take over the community if Recology is able to carry out their plans for the site. Odors of rotting meat and decomposing food will have a huge effect on everyone in the community, including those living on the West side of I-205. With children playing at Playhaven Park to the south, bicyclists and hikers using the Springwater Trail adjacent to the plant, and family neighborhoods all around the facility, THIS DOESN’T SMELL RIGHT!

Thank you to all of those who attended the public meetings and City Council hearings, put up signs in your lawn, wrote letters, emails, and even made phone calls to City Councilors, land use officials, and other organizations to help our cause.
But, the fight against Recology is not over yet!

On December 20, we filed intent to appeal the decision again, this time to the State of Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), a body that will review the City’s decision in the coming months.

We need your continued support! Follow us on Facebook and sign up to be on our mailing list for updates on the state appeal process.

Below is some interesting information that we thought you might like to know…

At the hearing Recology stated that it did not have issues with odor complaints and public nuisance problems at its other facilities in Oregon. We know that this is not the case. According to DEQ records, Recology’s North Plains site has received 69 odor complaints since it took over operations in April 2009. Click here to read about how Washington County Commissioners recently decided to extend probation for the North Plains facility because of the “unbearable smells” that “make life in the county miserable.” The other sites that Recology referred to in making claims to a clean record include Metro Central and Suttle Road—both of which are located within industrial zones and are nowhere near residential areas. We can’t let Recology get away with accepting food waste at a facility in the middle of our community!