1) Sustainable Overlook Summit (Feb. 21)
2) Beach Elementary School auction (March 14)
3) Monthly bill-pay option now available for city utilities
4) Trimet survey results
5) Set up a waste collection system that works for you
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1) Sustainable Overlook Summit (Feb. 21)
Mark your calendar for the inaugural Overlook Sustainability Summit organized by Sustainable Overlook. The event will bring neighbors together to talk about a range of efforts underway that are strengthening the resilience, livability and long term health of the Overlook Neighborhood.
There will be panel and group discussions on ecology, local economy and equity. The purpose of this summit is to bring together committed neighbors, supporters and curious folks to talk about a range of efforts underway that are strengthening the resilience, livability and long term health of the Overlook neighborhood.
RSVP for the event and learn more online. The site includes the full list of speakers and panels.
Overlook Sustainability Summit
Saturday, Feb. 21, 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Beach Elementary School (1710 N Humboldt St.)
Suggested donation $10
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2) Beach Elementary School auction (March 14)
Beach Elementary School PTA invites neighbors to support the annual school auction, their largest fundraising event of the year. It will take place on March 14 at the Riverside Golf and Country Club.
Beach is a K-8 public school located in the Overlook Neighborhood. It offers two outstanding programs; a traditional Neighborhood school and a Spanish Immersion school. Beach is a proud and diverse school with incredible teachers, committed parent volunteers and, most importantly, an amazing student population. Though the majority of Beach students qualify for free or reduced lunch and a significant number of students qualify for transitional housing services, its students continue to exceed expectations.
Beach Elementary School auction
Saturday, March 14, 6 p.m.
Riverside Golf and Country Club (8105 NE 33rd Drive)
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3) Monthly bill-pay option now available for city utilities
The City of Portland’s two utility bureaus, Environmental Services and Water, value excellent customer service. In response to customer requests, they are excited to offer an option to pay monthly – rather than quarterly – to the 97% of customers who are eligible.
Monthly statements can help our customers manage their monthly budgets and better understand how city utility charges fit into their overall monthly expenses. Customers receiving monthly statements still have their meters read quarterly, but will receive a statement each month. Those customers continue to pay the same total over a three-month period as those who choose to continue with a quarterly bill, in three installments rather than one.
“This option will allow older adults who wish to pay on a monthly basis but don’t have access to electronic billing and payment the ability to do so,” said Barbara Bernstein, Interim Executive Director for Elders in Action. “Our clients have asked for this option for years.”
“Paying for sewer, stormwater, and water services monthly can help Portlanders manage their expenses right now,” said Janice Thompson, the Citizens’ Utility Board’s consumer advocate for Portland public utility customers. “This is an important option that CUB has been pushing for.”
Find out more about the new option online.
To discuss whether monthly statements are a good fit for you, call the Customer Service Center at 503-823-7770 or visit the Service Center in person at 1120 S.W. Fifth Ave.
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4) Trimet survey results
Trimet this week sent out a big thank you to the more than 3,400 people in North and Central Portland who took the Future of Transit survey last fall. Nearly everyone who participated rides transit. Ninety-eight percent ride occasionally and 89 percent ride the bus (the rest ride MAX, WES or LIFT).
Trimet heard riders’ needs loud and clear: more frequent service is the improvement that people ranked as most important. Therefore Trimet will implement 15-minute service on weekends on Frequent Service bus lines and on MAX fully restored in 2015 (weekday frequent service was restored in 2014).
Check out the full survey results online, including the four most common service improvement requests.
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5) Set up a waste collection system that works for you
Here’s a time-tested question: Who’s in charge of taking out the garbage in your household? Does this job also involve the recycling and composting containers inside your home?
Make recycling as easy as throwing away
Much of the activity related to recycling and composting doesn’t happen at the curb. It happens in our kitchens, family rooms, home offices, bedrooms and bathrooms. Strategies that create easy ways to separate waste right where it’s generated in the house will increase the chance that things get to the right container out at the curb.
Walk through your home and ask yourself if it is as easy to recycle in each room as it is to throw things away? Are there certain recyclable items that are getting thrown away in some rooms but not others?
One principal to good recycling is to provide a recycling container everywhere where there is a garbage can.
Even in the most motivated households, if you only have a garbage can in place, items that could be recycled may get tossed in the garbage. If you only have a recycling container in place, garbage might end up in your recycling.
It is also important to periodically check the two containers to ensure that waste materials are in the right one. People often make decisions about where to throw things away by looking into the container and seeing what is already there rather than reading signs or asking questions. One person’s mistake can quickly become a household norm.
Composting is easy, too
When it comes to composting, food scraps are mainly in the kitchen, so find and use a kitchen compost container that you like and place it where it works best for your household. When choosing a container, consider where you will keep it, whether you’ll use optional kitchen container liners, how often you fill your container, and how you will keep it fresh and clean.
It is important to also create a space in your kitchen or another agreed upon area where all materials can be collected before being taken to the curb and emptied into their individual containers outside. If you want to collect non-curbside materials, like miscellaneous plastics (bags, caps, lids, Styrofoam), determine a place to put these items aside to deliver to a recycling depot.
Whether you are new to Portland, a longtime resident or often host out-of-town guests, use the start of the new year to get the right materials in the right place.
Want a detailed list of what goes in – or must stay out – of your curbside containers?
Find information online or download a guide in 10 languages. And remember if an item is not on the “yes” recycling or composting list, the best place for it is in the garbage.
Need help remembering garbage day?
Sign up for free email reminders at www.garbagedayreminders.com.