| The Green Team (GT) was founded in 2009 by a group of residents who felt the need for recycling at Willamette View (WV). Joined by other residents, and with the support of the administration and the Resident Council, they formed the foundation of a committee that has evolved to promote sustainability, beyond the initial recycling goal. |  |
The Green Team meets on the second Wednesday of each month, except August and December, at 9:30 am in the Court Family Room. Participation is open to all residents interested in conservation and sustainable practices. |
Our Mission
To promote an environmentally responsible culture at Willamette View through Education, Advocacy and Action.
Our Goals
1. Maintain a comprehensive recycling program which is supported by the actions of residents and staff.
2. Educate all residents and staff about the environmental impact of individual choices regarding food, water and energy.
3. Promote sustainability awareness and climate action by sponsoring speakers and other educational programs, participating in community sustainability events, and coordinating annual Earth Month activities.
The order of the “3 Rs” on the Green Team logo is intentional. Whenever we can, we reduce our impact on the environment. When we can’t reduce, we reuse wherever possible. Finally, items that cannot be reused immediately are recycled for remanufacture and eventual reuse.
Reduce
Nearly everyone who moves to Willamette View has had to reduce — furniture, kitchen equipment, clothing, books, etc. And we continue to downsize after moving here. Many new residents give up their second cars, and eventually may give up driving altogether, in favor of other transportation options.
Reuse
At Willamette View the resident-managed Carousel (clothing, accessories & gifts), Mart (furniture and art), and Boulevard Bookstore all support our culture of reuse. Residents also share over 4,000 library books and 150 DVDs from our three spacious libraries, managed by a team of volunteers, including several former professional librarians. Although not sponsored by the GT, these initiatives exemplify WV’s emphasis on sustainability.
Recycle
The Green Team sponsors a recycling room in each residential building on campus. Resident monitors in each building, under the leadership of the GT Recycling Coordinator and with the cooperation of WV Inc., maintain these rooms. Through education and example, the GT teaches that sorting begins in each resident’s apartment and continues in the recycling area of each building.
Where We Recycle at Willamette View
Every building recycling area has colored containers for each type of recycled product, as well as for trash that will go to the landfill. The Green Team stays abreast of the changes in State and County recycling guidelines and communicates them to residents and staff.
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A Team Effort : Together We Make a Difference
After individual residents sort and place recyclables in the appropriate bins in recycling rooms, many people assist in the next steps. To avoid contamination of recycling by trash, custodians and resident volunteers monitor bins to make sure they are ready to be picked up by Waste Management or taken to various recycling sites by volunteers. These efforts include:
Refundable Bottles and Cans
Residents place their drink containers in the bins labeled Returnable. Members of the volunteer “Bottle Brigade” collect and bag the refundable containers. Other volunteers transport them to a central location on campus from which they are hauled weekly to the Milwaukie Bottle Drop Redemption Center. Refunds enhance the Green Fund in the Blue Heron Foundation by an average of about $4,000 each year.
Plastic Bags and Wraps
Plastic bags and film are collected in yellow bins in the recycle rooms around campus. Each building has a volunteer who collects the accumulated bags and takes them to a grocery store or other collection site. The plastic film is used by the TREX Company to make “lumber” for decks and outdoor furniture. This is an important endeavor since plastic is so ubiquitous and survives in landfills and oceans forever.
Prescription and Over the Counter Drug Collection
Twice a year (usually April and October) Green Team volunteers, under the supervision of a representative from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s office, collect unused/unwanted prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs for safe removal and incineration. Pills, liquids, ointments, eye drops, pet meds, and aspirators are included in the collection.
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Battery Collection
Twice a year, Green Team volunteers collect used batteries from Willamette View residents The batteries are taken to facilities that provide proper and safe disposal.
River Road "Adopted" by Willamette View
Every 6 months Green Team members volunteer on a Saturday morning to pick up litter along a one mile section of River Road in front of Willamette View. The Clackamas County Adopt-a-Road Program provides vests, garbage bags and tools for this effort. In between biannual clean-up days, individual residents pick up litter on River Road during their walks or bike rides.
Briefing New Residents
Soon after new residents move into Willamette View, a neighbor who is a member of the Green Team Recycling Committee meets with them to explain Willamette View’s recycling and safe-disposal procedures and to acquaint them with the layout of their building’s recycling center. He/she also explains the Green Team and invites the new resident to attend Green Team meetings, to volunteer for some of its service activities, and to take advantage of programs (speakers, movies, discussion groups, etc.) sponsored by the Green Team.
The Green Fund
In July 2020 the Green Team established the Green Fund in the Blue Heron Foundation. It has become a source of grants for small projects that enhance the physical environment at Willamette View, save utility costs, and reduce the carbon footprint of the institution and its individual residents. Support for the Green Fund comes from donors, the volunteer Bottle Drop program, and carbon offset contributions.
Food Composting
Food waste makes up a large percentage of our landfill/trash waste. It generates methane gas which contributes significantly to global warming and climate change. Residents willing to follow the commercial food composting guidelines required of Willamette View and outlined in The Green Team Food Composting Guide are encouraged to participate. They may deposit their food scraps in designated bins in the loading dock areas by the Riverview and White Oak Grill kitchens.
James Recycling/Denton Plastics
Many plastics are not eligible for pick up by Waste Management. A small, private company called James Recycling offers recycling sites for some of them about every 6 weeks. James then chips up the plastic they collect and takes it to the Denton Plastics Company where it is reused to manufacture plastic products. A volunteer at Willamette View collects these plastics that are presorted by number by participants for James Events. A drop-off fee is charged, covered by Green Team and Willamette View Inc. Interested residents may refer to the Green Team contacts webpage to find James Recycling coordinator information.
Earth Month
Each year, Earth Day — April 22 — marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. At Willamette View the entire month of April is designated as Earth Month, a 30-day period when residents and staff advocate for the environment with programs and service projects. Many resident committees collaborate with the Green Team to observe Earth Month.
Field Trips
From time to time the Green Team plans field trips to local businesses and facilities that promote conservation, recycling and sustainability. These pictures are from a 2018 tour of a nearby water treatment facility.
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Collaboration
The Green Team supports other committee and staff-led activities that encourage environmental stewardship and sustainability. Since 2018, WV Green Team members have also been meeting with residents of other CCRC Green Teams. Participants include Rose Villa, Holladay Park Plaza, Mirabella, Mary’s Woods and Terwilliger Plaza. We exchange ideas and undertake joint projects that benefit from “scaling up.”
Accomplishments
A quick backward glance indicates the Green Team has been learning while building on successes. Beginning in the fall of 2009, with a focus on recycling, we have increasingly encompassed more aspects of sustainability and environmental stewardship to focus on active education and advocacy related to climate change.
The Green Team has:
- Established resident training in recycling, and worked on the development and maintenance of dedicated spaces in each of the resident buildings.
- Developed and frequently updated a comprehensive handout called Recycling Tips that explains the do’s and don’ts of recycling and suggests many additional ways to discard items no longer needed.
- Worked with Energy Trust in 2013 on a major project to reduce use of energy and water by installing improved shower heads and faucet caps and replacing incandescent light bulbs with CFL bulbs.
- Helped residents reduce their junk mail and to semi-annually collect hazardous household waste for group disposal.
- Encouraged WV Administration with on-site shredding services, expand electric car charging options, convert to LED lighting, purchase sustainable campus benches, and adopt a Corporate Sustainability Mission Statement.
- Sponsored a talk on Climate Change Actions for individuals, led by a physicist who is also a financial advisor. The talk was followed by discussion groups about fossil fuel divestment.
- Sponsored a kitchen waste composter in the new Riverview Dining facility, opened in October 2018, by making financial contributions from our returnables refunds.
- Provided Green Fund grants for 3 sizes of reusable take-out food containers, collection bins for their return, and drying racks for their sanitation.
- Worked with WVI to apply for the Clackamas County Leaders in Sustainability Gold Award in 2018 and to renew the recognition in 2022. The coveted award recognizes a few Clackamas County businesses for many facets of environmentally responsible operation.
Forward Focus
We will continue to pursue our Mission of promoting an environmentally responsible culture at Willamette View through Education, Advocacy and Action.
To do this, we will:
Expand and institutionalize efforts to reduce where possible and recycle where necessary the following waste items: plastic, Styrofoam, and food scraps.
Encourage the community to build on the sustainability goals for which recognition and awards have been received.
Encourage the participation of residents in actions that advocate meaningful responses to the Earth’s climate emergency.
Bring more residents into the Green Team’s multi-faceted work.
