The LWVLC supports HB3971. HB 3971 clears a land use pathway for the construction of the CleanLane Materials Recovery Facility  to be built in Lane County. The CleanLane facility is designed to recover more resources from our waste stream, and reduce the amount of material sent to the landfill. It takes food waste and recyclables out of the garbage, decreasing greenhouse gases emissions from Short Mountain Landfill.

Background from Beyond Toxics: Landfills are the third-largest source of human-generated methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. One of the most effective ways to prevent these emissions is to sort out organic waste before it ends up in a landfill where it turns into methane. Facilities like Clean Lane, sometimes referred to as a materials and energy recovery facility, are a critical component of sustainable management of solid waste. In addition to preventing organic waste from ending up in the landfill, it also sorts out hundreds of other materials that can be recycled instead of taking up valuable space in landfills. HB 3971 clears a pathway for Lane County to develop this facility which is a practical and innovative model for future solid waste management in Oregon.