You can receive daily, weekly, or monthly e-mail digests of newsfeed posts. Sign up for digest
About Metro › Metro Council › Councilor Rex Burkholder
Zoo celebrates 2011 attendance milestones, anticipates even brighter future
The Oregon Zoo will ring out 2011 in record fashion this weekend with the final nights of its best-attended ZooLights ever –– and then ring in 2012 with a celebratory day of free admission on Monday, Jan. 2.
With a grant from Metro, the Community Cycling Center studied the cultural and socioeconomic barriers to bicycling in some of Portland’s poorer neighborhoods. Now, the center is using the study’s findings to leverage additional funding and roll through barriers to riding a bike.
Baltimore Woods was in limbo. While the recession kept developers at bay, the area gave rise to weeds, litter and neglect.
But neighbors around the 30-acre corridor in North Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood saw the land as a community asset. And with the support of a Metro Nature in Neighborhoods capital grant, the woods were given a new lease on life.
Got holiday stuff to recycle? From trees to old TVs, learn what to do with what’s left behind.
Residents with curbside service for yard debris can add their Christmas trees, wreath and swag, too. Remember to remove all lights, wire, tinsel, ornaments, nails, stands and other materials. Another option? Let a scout troop, school group or service club collect the tree as part of its fundraising program. For a small fee or donation, organizations will collect trees, along with wreaths, the first weekend of the year. Some will continue recycling them the following week. Call Metro Recycling Information at 503-234-3000 or check online for the nearest options.
Packing peanuts aren’t recyclable curbside, but folks can take clean, dry packing peanuts to a shipping store for reuse. Some locations also may accept bubble wrap and sheets of packing foam. Block foam isn’t recyclable curbside, but a handful of businesses accept polystyrene block foam marked '6' inside the recycling symbol. Another possibility? Save the materials for your next big packing project. Call Metro’s recycling hotline or search the online directory for more details on local options.
Making the switch to energy-saving LED holiday lights? Throughout its winter ZooLights festival, the Oregon Zoo is collecting old incandescent lights for recycling. Zoo visitors who drop off their old holiday light strings by Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, will get a coupon for free fudge at the Zoo Store.
Consider donating excess food to a local food bank, shelter or other charitable organization that can accept it. For leftover food scraps, don’t forget to compost. With minimal equipment such as a compost bin, it's easy to turn trimmings into a garden-boosting soil amendment. Plus, Portland residents can now toss kitchen scraps – including fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy – into their green roll cart for curbside pickup. To learn more about waste-free holiday meals, visit Metro's news page.
To learn which electronics recyclers take mice, keyboards and printers, cell phones, VCRs, DVD players, fax machines or handheld devices, call Metro’s recycling hotline at 503-234-3000. Another option? Offer still-good electronics to friends or relatives who can use them. Oregon E-Cycles, a statewide industry program that collects computers, monitors and televisions for recycling, makes it even easier to keep valuable materials out of the landfill. For free recycling locations in the Oregon E-Cycles program, call 1-888-5-ECYCLE (888-532-9253) or visit the website.
From garbage and old furniture discarded in an alley to tires and rusted drums piled in a public park, it’s easy to spot an illegal dump. Metro's Regional Illegal Dumping Patrol partners with local governments including law enforcement to help clean up illegal dumps on public property. To report an illegal dump site in Multnomah, Clackamas or Washington county, call RID Patrol at 503-234-3000 or visit the website.
Of course, Metro also has the scoop on what kinds of packaging and gift wrap are recyclable, where to take other items that residents can’t recycle at the curb and how to maximize reuse options. Call Metro’s recycling hotline for details, or get waste-wise ideas online.
I recently was awarded an Urban & Regional Policy fellowship by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The fellowship allowed me to travel to Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Birmingham, U.K., and Bologna, Italy. In each city I interviewed leaders in business, government, academia and non-governmental organizations.
The Metro Council has approved spending $70 million in federal transportation money, applauding a two-year effort by the agency to collaborate with cities and counties and give a more thorough consideration of low income and minority communities.
A rare public dust up between Portland and Multnomah County was the flashpoint of a meeting where a regional committee approved spending $70 million in federal money for transportation projects and programs across the metropolitan area.
Making headway on that holiday list? Hold the foil-coated wrapping paper! Metro’s eco-friendly tips make it easy to go green while wowing everyone on your gift list.
Obsessing about the potential environmental impacts of every single product you might buy? David Allaway, a senior policy analyst at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, wants you to stop that.
Rex Burkholder represents District 5, which includes Northwest Portland, North Portland, Northeast Portland, downtown Portland, a portion of Southwest Portland and a portion of Southeast Portland.
activities climate change Community Investment Strategy development employment finances & funding grants maps and data maps and data natural areas news coverage parks and trails personal message planning and policy public comment reporting by Nick Christensen solid waste sustainable living transportation urban and rural reserves urban growth boundary visitor venues volunteering 