Far West Fibers

I've spent all morning trying to track down trash—namely, the single use plastic bags that Portland is considering banning.

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Working as a sorter at a recycling facility like Far West Fibers requires in part standing in front of a conveyor belt moving 18 mph and madly plucking out what shouldn't have gone in the blue curbside bin: glass bottles, plastic bags, stuffed animals, clothing, cat and dog food bags to name just a few.

As I recently learned, the "technology" that corrects my errors is actually another resident of Portland whose job is made much, much harder by busted plastic highchair trays and other items that don't belong in the curbside recycle bin.

Expansion plans are on the horizon for Far West Fibers' Beaverton Recycling Center in the new year. "In February, we will no longer need to reload recyclables and ship them to our larger facility in Hillsboro at night," said Jeff Murray, vice president of business development for ...

Far West Fibers and Portland Recycling Centers are now accepting Used Cooking Oil for processing into local sustainable biodiesel.

I had signed up to ride a populaire permanent with friends, only to back out because I was flaring a bit and realized that 62 miles was simply too many miles for me to ride in one day just now. I'm listening to my body and staying close to home. Went to bed early last night and got a good night's sleep. Felt much better this morning (though not better enough to ride a 100k populaire, and I know I made the right choice in skipping it) and decided that a short neighborhood ride at a mellow pace wouldn't hurt me. In fact, getting out on my bike for even a short trip would probably hlp me from going crazy from too much inactivity. So I brought out the X (version 2.0) and took a short trip to my local branch of Far West Fibers to offload a little scrap metal and about six months' worth of plastics.

The Surly makes load-hauling easy.





The attendant was in a cheerful mood and quite happy to see someone bringing their recycleables on a bicycle. This led to a nice chat about bikes and how they will save the world, and while we talked I invited him to take an evidence photo before I unloaded my bike.


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There's a fun new way to stay motivated about recycling, and spotlight your business's recycling practices. Recycle at Work is a great site sponsored by Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. The City of Portland's goal is to progress toward a 75% recycling goal, and businesses are being asked to complete a Progress Report to let the city know about recycling practices at work. The Recycle at Work program offers some great advice on how to reach your company's recycling goals, with everything from how to cut back on waste to green catering.
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