Solid Waste and Recycling

Field Trip Questions

Metro South Transfer Station Field Trip Questions

Q: Where does all the garbage dumped in the pit at the transfer station go?
A: The Columbia Ridge Landfill, 150 miles east of Oregon City in the high desert area of Gilliam County.

Q: What happens to it there?
A: It is buried in the sanitary landfill where it will take up space for decades.

Q: What happens to the materials that are sorted out on the floor of the transfer Station?
A: They are separated by material type and sent to recycling facilities.

Q: What are these materials?
A: Metals, wood waste, yard debris, plastic bottles.

Q: What type of material did you see the most of in the pit?
A: Plastic bags, broken furniture, etc.

Q: How many semi-trucks carry our garbage to the landfill each day?
A: Between 65-75.

Q: How much garbage does each truck carry?
A: About 30 Tons

Q: What are the 3 R's of waste?
A: Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Q: Name a way you can make less garbage.
A: Various examples of reduction... buy in bulk, don't buy items in unrecyclable packaging, think before you buy or pack your lunch.

Q: Name a way you can reuse an item.
A: Various examples...

Q: Name five things you can recycle at home.
A: Steel, Aluminum, Glass, Newspaper, Scrap Paper, Corrugated Cardboard, Used motor oil, milk and juice cartons, etc.

Q: Why is it important that we make less garbage, reuse and recycle?
A: It saves resources; saves energy and fuel; protects habitat; reduces pollution to air, land and water; creates jobs in recycling, etc.

Materials Recovery Facility Questions

Q: Where did all this material that's being sorted come from?
A: Homes, businesses, and schools that have separated this material from their garbage to be recycled.

Q: What types of materials do you see?
A: Newspaper, plastic bottles, paper, magazines, cardboard, tin cans, aluminum cans, etc.

Q: What material is kept separate from all others when the recyclables are being sorted? Why?
A: Glass- it contaminates the other materials, makes it difficult to sell to markets, and gets caught in the machines.

Q: How are the recyclables sorted?
A: By people and machines. The machines separate materials by weight and magnets. The employees pick out certain materials- plastic bags and bottles, etc.

Q: What happens to the recyclables once they're separated into piles?
A: The piles are compressed into bales of material. These bales are loaded onto trucks (each weighing 25 T or 50,000 lbs.), and are sold to different processors who turn them into new materials.

Q: Why is it important to recycle?
A: So the material can be sold to markets and made into new things, instead of buried in a landfill. Also, it takes a lot of less energy and causes less air, water, and land pollution to make new materials from recycled products than it does to make them from virgin materials. Recycling also helps to create more jobs.

Q: Name one way you can make recycling easier.
A: Make sure to properly prepare your recyclables: keep your glass containers separate, only include plastic bottles (no lids or plastic bags), remove labels from tin cans, rinse out bottles and cans, do not include paper that has been contaminated with food, etc.