Commissioners note decline in commercial food‑waste collection and seek landfill audit

Committee members raised concerns about recent waste-composition figures and falling participation in a commercial food‑waste program, and asked staff to retrieve the underlying audit for confirmation.

"Organics in 2023 was 50% according to the county," a participant said during the meeting, then noted the chart they referenced was from the City of Eugene climate dashboard and that they would share the source.

Speakers said commercial participation in the Love Food Not Waste program peaked around 2018 and has since fallen, with one member observing it had "plummeted down to its original 2012 number." Committee members discussed that the city’s landfill auditing schedule was disrupted by COVID and noted the prior comprehensive audit had been done in 2016, with a later audit completed in 2023.

Because the dashboard and the reported figures were discussed without the underlying report in hand, staff agreed to contact Angie to locate and share the landfill waste‑composition audit and any clarifying documentation. One staff speaker said they would follow up offline to provide more detail.

Why it matters: accurate waste‑composition and program‑participation data can shape the commission’s outreach and policy recommendations, help explain low participation in commercial diversion programs and inform questions for the upcoming business panel.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff will request the landfill/audit report from Angie and share it with committee members for review; committee discussion will continue offline and inform the June 3 question-refinement session.