Forget that - it won't be happening any time soon. The hot item for tourists this summer's going to be gas mask rentals. For this, entepeneurs can thank Portland's smarmy little mayor for thinking things through as he usually does - which is to say, not at all.
Desperate to burnish his "green" credentials, he struck a deal with "Recology", a "recycling" company with a dodgy track record, and they got Washington County to sign off on a deal to slap together a benign recycling center outside of North Plains. The deals being done, mayor Smarmy decreed that henceforth, garbage service would be cut in half - but they'd pick up recycling weeekly! They even passed out food slop buckets with instructions for "recycling your kitchen scraps".
This was all trucked out to the North Plains Recology center, and it didn't take long for the stench to become overpowering. The complaints got Washington County's attention, and now the state's getting into the act:
In addition, the state Department of Environmental Quality earlier this month issued Nature's Needs a "Warning Letter with Opportunity to Correct." The conditions outlined in the letter, if not addressed, potentially violate the business's franchise agreement with Washington County.
If this can't be worked out to everyone's satisfaction (which appears doubtful, given Recology's track record), Portland's smarmy mayor is going to have to find someplace else for his incredible "green-ness" - and for the 60% of Portland "compost" he insists must be collected and recycled. That's not going to be easy. Perhaps he's hoping to be out of office before it comes to that.
