Josephine County to receive about $23,000 DEQ rebate; commissioners approve DEQ recycling authorization 2-1 after public concerns

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners on a weekly business session acknowledged a roughly $23,000 rebate from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and approved an authorization form about statewide producer responsibility for recycling, after discussion about who should administer local recycling programs.

Rob Brandes, Public Works director for Josephine County, told the board the DEQ payment is “about $23,000 rebated,” money that arrived because the county is among the nine most economically impacted counties in the state and is calculated on per-ton disposal. He said the funds can be spent on several types of solid-waste activities allowed by DEQ, including reducing disposal fees, recycling and contamination reduction programs, and household hazardous waste collection.

Brandes said the county has not yet designated a final use and that the money has historically been parked in the county solid-waste fund. He noted a June 7 household hazardous-waste event planned in the county and urged commissioners to consider local priorities for the rebate. “When you pay that $30 a month for your…