Deschutes County Solid Waste announced that it will host an informational open house on Monday, Sept., 11 regarding the new solid waste management facility. The open house, which will occur from 5:30-7pm, will give community members an opportunity to learn and discuss details of the project and explore the county’s ongoing efforts to increase recycling and waste diversion.
For the last 18 months, the Solid Waste Department has been in the process of evaluating sites for a new facility. Deschutes County only has one landfill, Knott Landfill, which is expected to reach capacity in 2029.
The County’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee has identified two possible sites. The “Moon Pit” and “Roth East,” are both located east of Bend city limits and are being analyzed during the second phase of site review. The County initially identified 31 sites that met its criteria.
The County is evaluating potential locations for the new facility based on criteria including environmental, land use, site characteristics and engineering. Once a location is approved by the Board of County Commissioners, which is expected to happen anytime between 2024 and 2027, the County will work on property acquisition, land use permitting and facility design.
The main reason for siting a new facility is the looming capacity at Knott Landfill. However, the committee is considering adding in other amenities to the final site design, such as the separation and diversion of recyclables, food waste and construction and demolition materials.
The current Knott Landfill hosts a transfer station, recycling center and a composting facility, which will continue to operate even after the landfill closure.
The county started exploring options for managing future solid waste in 2018, anticipating the need for a new facility. A new facility would cut costs by eliminating the need to truck additional waste outside of the County.
The county worked with the Solid Waste Advisory Committee and developed the Deschutes County Solid Waste Management Plan, adopted by the Board of Commissioners, that proposed a new landfill to be sited within Deschutes County. The Sept. 11 open house will take place at the Deschutes Services Building on Wall Street and will also be available to stream through Zoom.
This article appears in Source Weekly September 7, 2023.
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