Portland City Hall: North Plains compost stink not our problem (Jack Bog's Blog)

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on September 20, 2012 10:44 AM. The previous post in this blog was Swallow all beverages before clicking on this. The next post in this blog is Cry me a river. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Portland City Hall: North Plains compost stink not our problem

If you got a gripe, you're supposed to call the DEQ. When a reader asked the City of Portland about the ungodly stench that its food slop composting program is causing in North Plains -- an area that the city's endless "smart growth" planning is supposed to be preserving, not making uninhabitable -- he received this reply:

From: BPS - Waste Information

To: ******

Hello ******,

Thank you for contacting Waste Info.

The City of Portland oversees the collection of compostable materials from curbside. Composting facility operations are regulated by Metro and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

While we don’t regulate this facility, our staff has been out to visit several times in the past year. The facility operators have made significant site improvements aimed at optimizing composting conditions and minimizing odors. When the facility is notified of complaints received from the public they will investigate the cause of the odors and make necessary adjustments to operations.

If you you’d like to make an odor complaint about Nature’s Needs in North Plains, you can notify DEQ using this online form: http://www.deq.state.or.us/complaints/dcomplaint.aspx Be sure to include the date and time that you noticed odors.

If you have questions about curbside collection contact us at 503-823-7202 or at wasteinfo@portlandoregon.gov.

Regards,
Annette

Posted at 10:44 AM | Permalink

Comments (8)

The new city seal for North Plains should show the citizens living under a reaking cloud of some kind.

Posted by Portland Native | September 20, 2012 11:17 AM

"When the facility is notified of complaints received from the public they will investigate the cause of the odors and make necessary adjustments to operations."

I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but my bet is on the giant mound of festering garbage sitting out there.

I hate to say it, but this is actually good advice from the City: "Don't expect us to care about you. Call the State."

Posted by Snards | September 20, 2012 11:44 AM

Maybe North Plainians should get on board with an initiative petition to have on a vote about whether or not they will Portland’s garbage.

Posted by TR | September 20, 2012 12:04 PM

Why waste staff time on this issue if they're simply going to say "not our problem"?

It reminds me of the average City of Portland road maintenance: 3-4 guys watching one guy work, plus flaggers.

Posted by Mister Tee | September 20, 2012 12:13 PM

It may very well become our problem when they start putting food waste storage facilities within our neighborhoods!

Posted by clinamen | September 20, 2012 1:06 PM

When I had a problem with an unsafe bus stop on S.W. Barbur Boulevard in the city limits of Portland, Oregon, there was one consistent answer I got from all involved parties (TriMet, City of Portland, ODOT):

"It's not my problem."

But I bet if I went out there with some good quality white paint and installed my own signs, they'd sure stick every law enforcement officer to cite me, and then force me to pay for the labor (that didn't exist in the first place) to remove it.

It's never the city's problem, unless it's politically advantageous for it to be the city's problem. When a poor little gay kid in S.E. Portland gets mowed down by a car, Portland City Hall will respond more swiftly than all of the military assets this country has. But if it's just Joe Schmoe pedestrian walking to a bus stop...City Hall goes on vacation.

Posted by Erik H. | September 20, 2012 1:20 PM

Politician probs, eh? Arrogant? Out of touch? I know one like that.

Too bad you guys know more.

Posted by Sam L. | September 20, 2012 4:31 PM

'Why waste staff time on this issue if they're simply going to say "not our problem"?'

Waste is what they do - I got a helpful mail from the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability offering unsolicited "tips" on how to organize the kitchen, recently.

Posted by AlSleet | September 21, 2012 5:19 PM