Future of Metro South Station

Metro is taking a new look at services provided at Metro South station to make the facility more efficient and sustainable for the long run.

Metro South, a solid waste transfer station owned and operated by Metro and located in Oregon City, is a well-used facility that receives many types of materials from a variety of sources. Commercial garbage haulers bring garbage collected at homes and businesses to Metro South, where workers try to reclaim and reuse as many materials as possible before the rest is transported to landfills. These haulers also bring organic materials (yard debris and food waste) to Metro South to be transferred to other facilities for composting.

In addition, Metro South is the most heavily-used facility in our region for households and small businesses to bring their “self-haul” materials – garbage, construction debris, recyclable items and others – for recovery, reuse and disposal. Metro South also features a household hazardous waste facility where paints, solvents and other chemicals can be collected and handled safely without creating extra hazards for our environment.

Since its opening in 1983, Metro South has evolved from a garbage transfer station to provide the various waste management services it offers today. But Metro South is a constrained facility with limited room to grow, making it increasingly difficult for Metro South to continue to provide the full set of services it currently offers.

Metro is undertaking a two-year evaluation of the services currently offered at Metro South. It is considering projections for future demand for different types of waste management services, the availability (or lack thereof) of similar services at nearby locations, and recommendations for enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of Metro South's operations over time.

This effort has three stages:

1.  A review of the solid waste transfer system in the Metro South service area

2.  A comprehensive needs assessment of Metro South customers

3.  The development of future options to address any unmet or emerging needs

The project is currently in the third and final stage, developing concepts to improve the facility operations and address future needs. Metro has been working with all types of customers of Metro South in this assessment and will provide options for the Metro Council to consider in 2014 to guide the future operations of the facility.