By Naomi Inman
What happens to all that construction debris on public works projects? How is construction waste recycled and kept out of the landfill? A recent Multnomah County audit raises more questions than answers on four bond-funded library construction projects, and it sheds light on the dubious calculation methods of a leading Portland recycling contractor.
The reason it matters is that the county’s construction projects choose contractors that will help them obtain LEED certification. The certification requires that construction projects recycle 50 to 75 percent of construction waste to meet LEED building standards. Because of the fraud identified in the audit, LEED certification will be removed from two of the library projects, and LEED points reduced for two others.
In the Multnomah County report, the auditor spelled out how contractors at City of Roses Disposal and Recycling (COR) failed to meet local government standards and submitted inaccurate and exaggerated recycling figures gained by skirting certified metrics of weighing debris and instead “eyeballing” loads of waste at the facility.
The report came about by way of a complaint to the Good Government Hotline by GreenWay Recycling, whose CEO Terrell Garrett, won a national award from the Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA) for the best recycling rates in the region, keeping solid waste out of landfills.
GreenWay has competed for years against COR on large government projects only to be passed over when COR reported extremely high recycling rates. COR’s CEO, Alando Simpson, served for years as a member of the Oregon Transportation Commission and did not respond to inquiries about the audit from the Oregonian.
The auditor’s analysis stated that, “Had the county or its general contractors identified that a waste hauler was not processing waste according to its standards, it’s possible that the county and its general contractors could have pivoted to another waste hauler, or required the hauler to meet its standards….”
Auditors discovered that COR did not base its waste recycling report on the actual weight of construction materials recycled and misrepresented recycling numbers. This resulted in an unfair advantage when competing for the projects by other contractors, such as GreenWay. According to the Oregonian, auditor KC Jones issued several recommendations to ensure contractors are complying with recycling standards in the future and the investigation is ongoing.
Five years ago, voters in Multnomah County approved a bond levy to build new libraries and expand others—a total of eight projects. GreenWay Recycling released a statement saying the practices by COR are a “detriment of taxpayers and the environment.”
The company also believes that the scheme exposed at the libraries are likely occurring at “multiple public works project across the Portland area,” and hopes other government agencies will take steps to further investigate fraudulent recycling reporting practices.
