By Daniel Hiestand
Lane County Waste Reduction Outreach Coordinator
Attention Lane County teachers! Interested in teaching sustainability but don’t have the curriculum? Now you do! At Waste Wise, you can download free standards-aligned lesson plans and activities, sign up for field trips, and schedule in-class workshops. Created for K-12 teachers, Waste Wise has done the work for you to make teaching sustainability and waste prevention easy.
“This new website is so important to streamline access to teaching materials, field trip opportunities, and community partnerships,” said BRING Director of Education Emily Reynolds. BRING offers both curriculum and field trip signups for educators on the site. “This content will enhance the relevance and effectiveness of an educator’s lesson planning, making it easier for teachers to engage students in real-world sustainability issues and promote hands-on learning opportunities in our community and beyond.”
Watch our Waste Wise overview video to learn more, and register with Waste Wise if you are ready to download these resources!
New Waste Wise News: School Edition hits the streets soon
For students, educators, and teachers who want to bring more sustainability to their everyday decisions, the Waste Wise News: School Edition can help.
Get inspired by stories of young people doing inspirational work in our communities to fight climate change and discover resources that can help empower you to make more sustainable decisions on everything from where you buy electronics to how you get to school.
Check lanecountyor.gov/wastewise-schools to download your guide in the coming weeks.
Florence household hazardous waste collection events slated for early October
For folks in and around Florence, save a trip to Eugene and drop off your household hazardous waste materials closer to home at two events in early October at the Florence Transfer Station (2820 N. Rhododendron Dr.)
- Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 | Noon - 5 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024 | 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Many common household products contain hazardous ingredients. Anything with a caution label such as "Danger," "Warning" or "Caustic" can become a pollutant to groundwater and streams. Avoiding these products saves money and protects people, wildlife, and our environment. For more information, visit lanecountyor.gov/hazwaste or the Waste Wise Facebook events page.
Don’t wait until our household collection events to drop off batteries, antifreeze & oil! Did you know you can bring your household batteries (and antifreeze and oil) to the recycling area of the Florence Transfer Station all year?
Li-ion batteries pose a fire risk in your home. Tape the ends with clear packaging tape when you store them together to prevent sparking. Do not save up large quantities in your home. Bring them in anytime!
Oil is accepted for recycling at all 15 stations, while antifreeze is accepted at all but Sharps Creek. Visit
lanecountyor.gov/recycle for more information.
Lane County Waste Management earns sustainability award
Lane County Waste Management recently won the Sustainable Oregon Award, an honor from the Association of Oregon Recyclers (AOR). The award recognized Lane County’s "significant or outstanding accomplishments in recycling, waste prevention, reuse, or other sustainable materials management initiatives." 
AOR recognized the County's many waste prevention initiatives, including:
- Lane County will soon break ground on the country’s most technologically advanced waste processing facility. The CleanLane Resource Recovery Facility in Goshen facility will process residential garbage, commingled recycling, and organic waste to produce marketable recycling commodities and biogas for transportation. The facility will divert over 80,000 tons of material from the County’s landfill annually and can serve as a regional recycling hub for southwest Oregon.
- A new battery recycling program coordinated with local Bi-Mart stores.
- A $1 million-plus grant for battery recycling provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.
- A U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to help make commercially produced food-waste compost accessible to more county residents, particularly in historically underserved and rural communities.
- A Cottage Grove-based project that helped train local contractors on sustainable deconstruction skills.
- A new reusable dishware program (Sustainable Event Services) to divert waste from large community events.
- A Community Plastics Collection (CPC) program that specializes in plastics recycling that complements traditional curbside and county transfer station recycling options.
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