Planning Commission Votes 7-0 Against Riverbend Landfill Expansion

The word of the evening was "alternative." Yamhill County does not require a new garbage system for another six years and yet Waste Management pushed this land use issue now. The Planning Commissioners denied the application to buy time to seriously look at green trash-to-energy alternatives.

The Planning Commission unanimously (7-0) recognized that farming, tourism, the vineyard industry, the aquifer, and the right for landfill neighbors to have a nuisance-free and clean environment outweigh the need for a regional landfill that largely serves out-of-county interests--especially as landfills are phased out. Many counties are rejecting the old landfill model in favor of trash-to-energy systems.

The green economy is weighted against Riverbend. The number of government subsidies and programs for trash-to-energy systems is growing, and will only expand as the economy stabilizes. Landfills remain a problem for the environment, while new systems coming online can hold rates steady and help the environment.

It would be unpatriotic in this day and age not to use our garbage to reduce dependence on foreign oil. Waste Management knows this and will have non-landfilling systems in place around the country by the time Riverbend closes in 2014. The Texas garbage industry took a big risk by buying and enlarging our small local landfill into a regional facility. It is time to pivot and offer a trash-to-energy model to Yamhill County instead of more landfill capacity.

If Waste Management does not make that change, someone else will. Floodplain landfills are out; making domestic fuel and energy from trash is in. The Yamhill County Planning Commission understands this, and we hope the three County Commissioners do, too.