4 RAIN August TurningWaste by Dan Knapp and Steven Ames Part II. How It Could Happen All the while, as our output of solid waste in thiS country multiplies and available landfills fill up, local communities are being encourage.d by waste planners and equipment manu· facturers to invest their credit in high-tech, high-capital "solutions" that promise to shred or burn s()lid waste out of existence. Some localities, compelled by the logic of doing more than simply burying waste, havc taken such steps, Yet we're quickly learning that tbese centralll.ed approaches to waste management often involve unproven technologies, questionable economics and unknown health risks. In treating waste so inflexibly, the high-tech people continue to draw community-based alternatives out of the equationfrom sophisticated biological nutrient recycling systems, to practical source separation strategies, to the baseline possibilities for vastly reducing waStes generated in the home. Left only to the realm of experts, our communities, neighborhoods and individuals themselves may never find the chance to prove they can make the difference. It's us that is our own best hope. Eugene Comes On Line Looking at Eugene, Oregon, is a good case in point. I have been involved in this community's own unique responses to the waste imperative in the la~t few years, and have observed closely the experimentation and rapid development that has occurred in its various recycling systems-each evolving to fill a particular niche and everyone changing with new conditions and possibilities. As awarenesS here continues to grow that the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle maxim IS not only a matter of pu blic ecology, bu t an energy-saving, job-producing alternative for turning waste into wealth and local self-reliance, it's probable that newer recycling microeconomics will be brought on line, broadening this community's capacity to deal effectively with its waste. Here are some of the organizations now active in the area of solid waste that are starting to nudge Eugene towards sustainability; • BRING (Bring Rec_vcling in Neighborhood Groups). Still a good idea, BRING is tht· oldest of the post-Earth Day 1969 organizations which involves a drop-off collection system and processing center for handling rccydable post-con' sumer wastes. In 1979 BRING translates into a string of neigh· borhood locat.ions- usually schools-which arc visited by a truck (the BRING·mobile) on a scheduled basis to pick up bottles. flattened cans and cardboard and aluminum. BRING also receives recyd ables at the Glenwood Solid Waste Center (site of Lane County's downed garbage grinder) which. with the help of the BRING-mobile, are further processed at the _ ..,....._ BRiNG headquarters and warehouse. BRING IS a non-profit
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