As a way to provide residents with options for upgraded recycling services, the Lake Oswego City Council is leaning toward adding a licensing program that would create a path for both Ridwell and Republic Services to conduct such services for local residents.
The council gave direction to staff to pursue this option during a meeting Tuesday, July 30.
Currently, Republic Services has an exclusive franchise agreement with the city for recycling services. Ridwell — a for-profit company that collects items that are difficult to recycle (like plastics, batteries and lightbulbs) from residences and sends them to partners that discard them sustainably— was informed by the city in 2021 that it was in violation of city law due to the exclusive agreement; the city asked the company not to sign up new customers but allowed it to continue operating in town until the council had a broader conservation about expanded recycling services.
In anticipation of the meeting, many community members sent written public testimony advocating for allowing Ridwell to continue to provide services to local residents. The city noted that Ridwell has about 800 customers in Lake Oswego.
“I’m writing to express my STRONG recommendation that Ridwell be allowed to continue operating in Lake Oswego. They bring a service to our community that no other vendor offers, especially for plastic recycling. With all the issues around plastic and PFA (paraformaldehyde waste) in our water, soil, air, etc., businesses like Ridwell are critical to responsible disposal,” one resident wrote.
The city noted that Washington County does not allow Ridwell, but the city of Portland created a carve-out in its franchise agreement to allow companies like Ridwell to operate.
Along with Ridwell, Republic Services has a Recycle+ option (which is available in cities like Beaverton, Tigard, Wilsonville and unincorporated Clackamas and Washington Counties). This program also provides curbside pickup of difficult-to-recycle items and, like Ridwell, Republic Services could apply for a licensing agreement to conduct this program in Lake Oswego if the city approves the program. Recycle+ currently is not available in town and a Republic Services representative said at the meeting that the company was open to the licensing idea.
“Adopting an ordinance to license or permit expanded recycling collection services would enable Ridwell to continue to operate in Lake Oswego, but legally and with additional oversight, and enable Republic Services to implement Recycle+. An advantage of this option is that it would give Lake Oswego residents choices of expanded recycling collection services that fit their needs and budget,” the city staff report reads. “This option is also flexible to accommodate new companies that may emerge in this space and changes to recycling regulations and markets as new statewide recycling laws are implemented starting in 2025.”
Some advantages of Ridwell, a company representative pointed out at the meeting, are that it provides more coverage options, allows pickups to be scheduled the night before and over its phone application, and provides transparency on its website regarding where materials go.
Councilor John Wendland liked the idea of the licensing program.
“It sounds like our community wants competition and competition helps us strive for excellence,” he said.
City Manager Martha Bennett also said the licensing program would likely require licensees to offer transparency in terms of where the recycling items are discarded to make sure it is ethical.
The city will consider this issue again at a later date.
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