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BNA Clean & Green Team

BNA Clean & Green Team - At It Again!

9/25/2021

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BNA Litter Clean Up
Saturday, October 30
9:00am - 12:00pm

Meet at the old Channel's Edge, 301 N. Bridgeton. We'll walk the neighborhood in teams cleaning debris from our neighborhood.


Wear costumes and clean up our neighborhood.
Garbage bags and litter grabbers available.
​ Wear gloves.
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Comment to DEQ by Fri, 12/18

12/15/2020

1 Comment

 
The Bridgeton Clean & Green Team have joined a city-wide community to put the pressure on individual businesses to clean up their act. Our draft letters to EcoLube and ORRCO are being shared with the other 58+ neighborhood organizations and NGOs. They will be presented later in Feb. or March. In the mean time, we are emailing comments to DEQ regarding Columbia Steel's air quality permit.

 
REQUEST: COLUMBIA STEEL CASTING - Please email your comments
Right now, we would like you to email a comment on the Proposed Air Quality Permit for Columbia Steel Casting. DEQ’s comment period ends next week, on Dec 18. 

Ironically, DEQ is currently testing their facility now, from Dec 8 - 18th but they can’t wait because their permit is based on a 5-year cycle. The new Cleaner Air Oregon regs. require testing for fine particulate matter and green house gasses (new categories). this will be the first full-fledged data collection, testing 18 separate sites within the Columbia Steel Casting Co. the data from these tests will be released mid-Feb. The links below go to DEQ NW Regional Air Quality Program for details on regulations.

Please take a few minutes to email your comment now:

WHAT: Send written comments by email
WHEN: Written comments are due by 5 p.m. on Friday December 18th, 2020
WHERE: Email to: NWRAQPermits@deq.state.or.us

Sample Email Text (feel free to edit and personalize):
Please postpone Columbia Steel’s Air Containment Discharge Renewal until the Cleaner Air Oregon Health Assessment is publicly released.  This would allow me to make an informed public comment. I understand that DEQ found that Columbia Steel is in the top three most dangerous industrial polluters to human health.
Sincerely, _______________ 
I am a (board) member of the Bridgeton Neighborhood Association

____________________________________________________

For More Information, see this Public Notice about Columbia Steel Castings’ proposed Air Quality Permit:
https://www.oregon.gov/deq/get-involved/documents/121820columbia.pdf

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BNA Neighborhood Litter Clean-up

9/28/2020

 
BNA Clean & Green Team has organized a neighborhood-wide litter clean up along Bridgeton Road, Marine Drive & Anchor Way, Join neighbors to pick up litter and remove graffiti! 

Saturday, Oct 24
9:00am - 12:00pm
12:00pm - Refreshments & prize giveaways will follow the clean up.


Plan to wear masks and bright clothing to keep safe, and socially-distant. Meet at the old Channel's Edge parking lot, 207 N. Bridgeton Rd. to join a team that will focus on
 the West end, Marine Drive, East end, or Roth Estates! 

Thanks to our friendly neighborhood Lowe's at Delta Park for donating bulbs to plant in our beloved triangle entry.
 

BNA Clean & Green Team meeting - Oct 8

9/27/2020

 
Join the BNA Clean & Green Team for a short presentation from Greg Bourget, Cascadia Action, on the Clean Air Cooperative that mobilizes a coalition of neighbors to reduce pollution. 

Cascadia Action works to connect affected communities with each other through a system of “spokes”  people who serve as a two-way communication link between their group and other participants.
​

BNA Clean & Green Team Meeting on Zoom
Oct 8, 4:00-5:00pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86184109225?pwd=QUJKeEtoQWFmZnQydmU2STR4ZkpTdz09
Meeting ID: 861 8410 9225
Passcode: BNA2020

DIY Triangle Spruce Up

3/21/2020

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Join Bridgeton Neighbors (at a proper social distance) at our entry triangle
DIY Spring Triangle Spruce Up 

Saturday, April 11, 2020

10:00a, - 12:00 pm


BYOT - Bring Your Own Tools!
  • Clean up - Pick up litter and debris
  • Dead head flowers & bushes
  • Weed removal
  • Sweep
  • Plant summer & fall bulbs

We'll keep our social distance and spruce up the triangle!
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Recycling in Bridgeton - Research Project

3/21/2020

 
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Plastic clam shells, plastic bags, foam, styrofoam, rope, long stringy things, insulated packaging and clothing is garbage. Do not add to blue bins - it cannot be recycled!
I was talking to a Bridgeton neighbor about the BNA Green Team and she asked about where our recycling really goes. She wasn’t the only curious mind that wants to know if these materials just get dumped in some landfill or if any business actually uses these collected materials.  

I followed one of the recycling haulers’ trucks and it led me out to the end of NE Marx Street to Far West Recycling where I set up a tour with Vinod Singh, Outreach Manager. The company started in 1980 so they’ve had 40 years to perfect the recycling business. Vinod  shared some key information that will definitely help my household recycle more. I hope it helps yours too!

I also talked on the phone with Jeff Murray, Director of Business Development for Environmental Fibers International (EFI) who set me straight on Portland Metro garbage & recycling systems. He sits on a DEQ Steering Committee looking at what they can do with the many materials that are  not recyclable so we can push back on manufacturers using un-recyclable material. 

WHYS (Costs and methods explained):
  • All Portland refuse and recycling facilities are licensed by the State and regularly inspected by Metro. They are held to increasingly higher equipment standards, asked to produce cleaner materials, and offer living wage jobs. 
  • The haulers operate under a “franchise-type” system where rates are set, and reviewed annually, by the City of Portland.
  • Since 2018, when China stopped buying our badly recycled materials, all garbage & recycling companies are now operating in the red, so are subsidized by us through the rates that Portland charges. 
  • Most of the upcycle-able materials are at a historic low because there are few buyers at this time.
  • With our ability to actually recycle correctly, and more companies buying wastes to manufacture new products like Renewable diesel, clothing and other reuse products, they hope to bring our costs down, sooner than later!

RECYCLING BASICS
  • All BNA recycling materials are delivered to Far West Recycling, Westrock or EFI by one of our garbage & recycling haulers. 
  • The Big Blue Bin - Mixed materials are presorted to remove the wire, clamshell like plastics, large cardboard pieces and big pieces of plastic. 
  • The rest gets shoveled onto a larger sorter, first carted up a large conveyor belt, where materials are dropped through holes or pulled out with a magnet. Manual sorting is still required due to inappropriate materials being included. 
​
$$ - Valuable Waste

$$ - Separating glass really works - It’s great that Oregonians have a bottle deposit and separate out the glass which is almost impossible to get out of paper fibers for upcycle purposes. 70-75% of our mixed paper is purchased for recycling into paper products again.

$$ - Cardboard is highly valued by Oregon paper mills.​

$$ - There are specific buyers of recycled yogurt containers, wires, metals, milk jugs and baby seats. #2 and #1 plastics are also purchased for quality upcycling.

$$ - Many metals can be easily upcycled so recyclers can make money on these.

$$ - Electronic recyclers pick up materials collected at these sites. They have many buyers and other facilities to remove the valuable components out of the plastic waste in these products.

$$ - Used motor oil is easily upcycled, leave by your cans in a closed, capped container. 


NOT RECYCLED (what can’t get recycled)  Portland does a great job informing people how to recycle but people still don’t follow directions and comingling does cause some things to literally slips through the screens (that’s why no small bottles, lids or small stuff).
  • Comingling allows for material to collect more efficiently but small stuff drops through and mucks up their sorter machines.  No lids! 
  • That’s why no lids! A new Metro grant is helping them design and purchase a machine that will help them sort small pieces more efficiently. 
  • Small stuff is a problem. Curbside shredded paper ends up in landfills most of the time. Even with their new sorter machine, they are lucky to retain 65% at best.
  • Non-recyclable materials are crushed, baled and  thrown away. This costs them $100/ton so they are incentivized to take advantage of every possible material that can be recycled - to get recycled. 
  • Plastic film, styrofoam, clothing, extension cords, rope and the ubiquitous plastic bags do not recycle. Long stringy things block up their sorter machine and cause delays. These items have to be removed by hand.

The Bridgeton neighborhood is one of Portland’s smallest neighborhoods with approximately 500 residents. We are served by the city of Portland licensed garbage and recycling services that picks up our garbage and recycling weekly. 

Land-based homes
Approximately 290 land-based homes in the Bridgeton Neighborhood receive garbage and recycling pick up once a week from Arrow Sanitary Service, (formerly Waste Connections). This curbside collection hauls the traditional can of trash, one mixed paper, plastic & metal recycling can, one glass container, and one food waste container. The size and costs depends on each household’s needs. The amount of garbage a land-based home-owner has to pay is directly tied to how much they recycle. 

Floating-homes
There are 17 Marinas (comprised of about 150 floating-homes) who receive garbage & recycling services at the top of their ramps. These homes are technically part of a business and so receive the benefit of selecting their own service providers. Unfortunately, this means that homes along Bridgeton Road have to listen to garbage & recycling trucks thundering by every day of the week from four different haulers; Portland Disposal & Recycling, Arrow Sanitary Service, Gruetter, and Recology. 

​Research & writing is fun!
Bridget Bayer, 503 673 6290
BNA Green Team, bnagreenteam@gmail.com

2020 Bridgeton Neighborhood Recycling

1/23/2020

 
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​Recycling curbside in Portland is pretty simple and hasn’t changed much since 2018 with more efforts around ‘recycling right’ and keeping unwanted materials out of the recycling due to changes with international markets. Check below for ways to recycle right*
 
*The BNA has instituted a Blue Bag Bottle Fundraiser that allows for bottle deposit money to add to our Neighborhood Clean Up fund. Get your bags and start “recycling for a cause” from Peg Molander. More details here: http://www.livebridgeton.com/bottle-drop-fundraiser
 
Metro Recycling Information Center is the best bet for up-to-date information. They have a Find a Recycler tool that offers many resources for disposal, recycling and reuse. They also have a new campaign called Recycle or Not that includes a game and Instagram option.
 
CURBSIDE RECYCLING BASICS
  • Recycling pickup is every week. We recommend setting out the blue roll cart and yellow glass bin when they are at least half full.
·       Containers at the curb by 6 a.m. Empty containers should be removed from curb within 24 hours.
·       Don’t over pack your blue roll cart. Contents must fall out easily.
·       Weight limit is 135 lbs.
  • Recycle properly. See the list of acceptable materials to put in your blue recycling roll cart. Ask Metro how to recycle items not accepted at the curb.
 
YES! Put these paper items together in your blue recycling roll cart:
Newspapers, magazines, catalogs, phone books, scrap paper, junk mail, cartons (milk, juice, soup), shredded paper (must be in paper bag), cardboard boxes. (Flatten small boxes for the blue roll cart. Flatten and bundle large boxes using twine or tape and place them next to the blue roll cart. Bundled cardboard must measure 36 in or less in any direction.)







YES! Put these plastic items together in your blue recycling roll cart:
Plastics recycling in the Portland Curbside Collection Service is based on size and shape not number. Put only these types of plastics in your blue recycling roll cart: bottles with neck smaller than base (6 oz or larger), tubs (6 oz or larger), plant pots (4 in or larger), or buckets (5 gal or smaller). Remember, no caps or lids.

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YES! Put these metal items together in your blue recycling roll cart:
Aluminum, tin and steel food cans, empty dry metal paint cans, empty aerosol cans, aluminum foil, scrap metal (smaller than 30 in and less than 30 lbs). Collect small pieces of metal (beer bottle caps, glass jar lids, screws, nails) inside steel cans and crimp closed.
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YES! Put these glass items together in your yellow recycling bin:
Put glass on the side in the yellow recycling bin. Mix all colors together (labels are ok) and keep separate at the curb in yellow glass bin or other rigid plastic container with “Glass Only” sticker.​
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​YES! You can recycle motor oil at the curb:
Put motor oil in a clear plastic bottle with a screw-on lid. Place next to roll cart or bin. Don't mix with other liquids.
 
 
NO! These common items cannot be recycled:
Plastic bags, diapers, propane cylinders, coffee cups/lids/pods, rigid plastics including "clamshells," plastic containers under 6 oz., prescription medicine bottles, latex gloves, disposable utensils, produce baskets, plastic lids and caps, plastic bottles that have come in contact with motor oil, pesticides and herbicide bottles, Tupperware, Rubbermaid, other reusable dishware, freezer and refrigerator boxes, hard copy books, light bulbs, drinking glasses, flower vases, ceramics, broken glass.
 
Redeemable*:
As of Jan. 1, 2018, more types of beverage containers carry a 10-cent deposit. These include bottles and cans for tea, coffee, fruit juice, coconut water, hard cider and kombucha, as well as beer, soft drinks and water containers. These are accepted at some grocery stores and all BottleDrop Centers. Not accepted at BottleDrop Centers: Wine, liquor, dairy or plant-based milk, infant formula and metal cans that require a can opener.
 
 
BNA Fundraiser
The BNA has instituted a Blue Bag Bottle Fundraiser that allows for bottle deposit money to add to our Neighborhood Clean Up fund. Get your bags and start “recycling for a cause” from Tom Hickey (west end) or Bridget Bayer (east end). More details here: http://www.livebridgeton.com/bottle-drop-fundraiser
 

Bridgeton Neighborhood Triangle Beautification

12/24/2019

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Bridgeton Triangle Planting CrewBridgeton Triangle Planting Crew
The BNA worked on starting a community-based conservation program using our beloved triangle entry to Bridgeton neighborhood as a model. During our annual Spring Clean Up, the BNA Green Team organized a landscape improvement project. Nine neighbors contributed sweat equity to remove invasive species, clean debris and weeds, and create a welcoming look. We distributed METRO print materials about the benefits of sustainable plants, gardening methods and conservationism in the Columbia River slough environment. 

Shortly after, BNA neighbors installed a boat delightfully painted to welcome people to our neighborhood. The native-only flowering plants were donated by neighbors. We didn’t plan on the fact that the boat, made of aluminum, would be so valuable to scrappers, and it disappeared not long after the plants took hold. Our generous neighbors rallied and not only found another boat, wood this time, but donated almost all the materials to secure it firmly in place the second time. The second round of improvements were partly purchased but did include some donated plants. Another neighbor group took advantage of the long Fall season to add more plants and spring bulbs to enhance the beauty of our triangle.

Neighbors learned about our work in person, on our website, LiveBridgeton.com, on social media and at two neighborhood-wide meetings. Participating volunteers received a ball cap that recognized them for their community service and environmental practices.
We thank East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District 2018-2019 SPACE Small Projects and Community Events grants for kick-starting this valuable project!

Bridgeton triangle before
Before
After! with organizer Laura Miller
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One Point of Contact

9/10/2019

 
Report a campsite online:  

PDXreporter.org: https://pdxreporter.org
(you will have to create an account here)

Alternatively, call Jonathon Lewis, Homelessness City Urban Impact Program (Camps), 503.823.3328 and leave a message.

OR
City of Portland’s website: 
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/69333​

Call City of Portland's Information & Referral, 503.823.4000 and they will fill out a form for you.

For clean up: call:  Rapid Response Bio Clean (503) 421-5148


DEQ should deny the application by ORRCO for air quality and solid waste permits.

4/30/2019

 
April 30, 2018
DEQ Air Quality Permit Coordinator,
The Bridgeton Neighborhood Association Green Team asks DEQ to deny the application by ORRCO for air quality and solid waste permits. We believe that health of our neighbors in the Bridgeton community and the natural environment surrounding us will be negatively impacted by the uncontrolled emissions and from ORRCO burning waste oil as fuel to run their processing plant. We also think that they are not carefully handling potential PCB’s that contaminate their collected waste fuel. 
DEQ has not been able to verify for certain what ORRCO emits. We want the oil refinery emissions to be monitored real-time, as they come out of the stacks and we want the full-spectrum results to be fully-disclosed and transparent. ORRCO should be required to install both a thermal oxidizer for the VOC gases and a Scrubber to contain all the Particulate Matter.
 
ORRCO’s system that allows for emissions self-reporting is not substantial enough for this dangerous type of industry. We think real-time monitoring technology has become readily available to verify exactly how much and exactly what hazardous agents are being emitted. There is evidence that refineries underestimate and underreport their true VOC emissions (like benzene, xylene and toluene which can cause headaches, dizziness and cancer) by 10-12 times. We want DEQ to stop allowing oil re-refiners to self-report their emissions and instead rely on quantifiable facts. 
 
DEQ should not grant a “used oil burning“ exemption to these oil refiners. It’s been misapplied. The original intent was for small space heaters in sheds as an “incidental process,” it should not apply to larger scale oil refining operations. By definition, it is not used oil by the time it hits their boilers because it’s already been processed into fuel. On one hand, DEQ calls it ‘used oil’ but on the other hand DEQ calls it “fuel” (i.e. on the proposed permit) However the two products are not the same thing and are not interchangeable. This mis-applied exemption causes the whole problem! We want DEQ do stop allowing this loophole as part of the ORRCO permit. 
 
Sincerely,
 
BNA Green Team Members
Bridget Bayer
Laura Miller
Ann Howell
Jon Peterson
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    Our Purpose

    The BNA Green Team:
    Focuses on land, air and water issues in the Bridgeton Neighborhood by promoting, advocating and creating a beautiful, sustainable, healthy environment.​​
    ​
    ​LAND - ​Bridgeton Triangle Beautification, Garbage & Recycling, Spring Clean up

    ​AIR - Monitoring, learning and supporting new policies to improve 
    air quality

    WATER - Watchdogs that inform public partners to keep toxins out of the river.

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    locations vary, contact bnagreenteam@gmail.com for the latest updates.

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     Gardens
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    www.multnomahmastergardeners.org/findmg

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Connect with Us on FB @BridgetonPDX or on Bridgeton.Nextdoor.com
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  • In the Know
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