Lane County outlines proposed waste‑processing facility with anaerobic digester, says diversion could halve landfill inputs

Lane County solid‑waste staff told the Eugene Sustainability Commission on the evening of the commission’s hybrid meeting that a planned public‑private waste‑processing facility would divert about 50% of the material that otherwise would reach Short Mountain landfill and would include an anaerobic digester to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) for the natural‑gas pipeline.

County solid‑waste manager Jeff Orlandini said the facility — proposed to be built on county land and operated by a private partner selected through an RFP — would leave curbside collection unchanged and aims to help the county reach a 63% recovery target (Orlandini said the community is currently at about 52–53%). “It’s a 50% diversion rate. So every 100 tons that goes in the facility, 50 don’t end up in the landfill,” Orlandini said.

The nut graf: county staff presented the project as a response to landfill planning and climate goals. Officials said the project would extend landfill life, reduce fugitive methane compared with landfill capture alone, and create a local recycling and processing hub; commissioners and attendees pressed staff on financial risks, who would buy the RNG and how residents and haulers will be educated about changes.

Orlandini said the county would own the land and most buildings; the gas‑generation building would be leased to the operator for the first five years. The operator selected in the county procurement (referred to in the presentation as Bulk Handling Systems /…