A Portland recycling contractor dumped 409 tons of recyclable construction material into landfills over seven years while reporting it as recycled on government projects, according to a new report from Cascade Policy Institute. The report documents what it calls "greenwashing" on taxpayer-funded construction sites, where environmental promises don't match actual practices. Metro, the regional solid waste authority, issued a notice of violation against COR (City of Roses) Disposal and Recycling after the company voluntarily admitted to the misreporting.
The violations covered material sent to landfills between April 2016 and 2019, totaling the equivalent of 87 dumpster truckloads, the report states. Metro's notice also found COR "failed to maintain and report accurate records" for rock, plastics, and wood over the past three years. This wasn't the company's first penalty—Metro fined COR $10,000 last December for throwing Oregon Convention Center debris into landfills instead of recycling it. Despite Metro staff recommending only a one-year franchise renewal due to concerns about the company's practices, the Metro Council granted a five-year extension. COR has held most construction and demolition waste recycling contracts for major Portland public works in recent years, including the airport remodel, Multnomah County libraries, Portland State University buildings, the city's wastewater treatment plant, and Portland Public Schools' new high schools.
All these projects follow green-building standards requiring maximum recycling of construction debris. According to the report, if government projects are promised over 80% waste recycling but less than 20% actually gets recovered, that constitutes greenwashing. GreenWay Recycling, which holds national certification and Oregon's highest construction waste recycling rates, has filed complaints with multiple agencies and government hotlines. The Multnomah County Auditor previously found that COR defrauded the county while trying to achieve LEED certification for bond-funded library projects, the report notes. During the Metro Council meeting following the December violation, COR CEO Alando Simpson testified: "We are committed to full transparency with Metro staff and council. We're not running from accountability; in fact, we're leaning into it."
The report argues that Portland's pattern of awarding contracts to COR despite repeated violations reveals weak accountability in public procurement. GreenWay CEO Terrell Garrett questioned why Portland School District would consider the company for the Jefferson High School project given COR's poor recycling performance on previous school renovations. "It's just sad that bad actors like this are ripping off the environment and ripping off taxpayers while government does very little to hold them accountable," Garrett stated in the report. The solution, according to the report's author, lies in holding COR accountable for misleading practices and encouraging Portland residents to pressure elected officials to stop awarding public contracts to the company. Much of the greenwashing would disappear if these accountability measures were put in place, the report concludes.