Oregon Public Broadcasting

The down economy has one silver lining. Across the Northwest people are throwing away less trash these days.

That's good for the environment, but it's also forcing some cities and counties to lay off landfill staff or raise dump prices. Anna King reports.

Jackie Lang is a spokeswoman for one of the largest garbage hauling companies in the nation, Waste Management.

Jackie Lang: “Yes volume is down somewhat in our landfills in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, which is not unusual. When the economy slows down, when people buy less they throw away less.”

Some dumps around the region, like Yakima County landfills, plan to raise prices.

The county Solid Waste Division has seen a dip in volume, but still has the same overhead.

Lang says something else going on here is better recycling programs throughout the region.

Some cities such as Renton and Olympia, Wash. have started to collect food waste along with yard waste.

Renton reduced the volume of trash by 24 percent in the last six months. And in Portland, the city is now collecting building materials that can be recycled or used on projects.