Community or Corporations?

Yes, dumping fees in Cottage Grove and other small towns in Lane County have risen. Why? Because Lane County does not use tax money to operate Short Mountain landfill. To keep Lane County from making enough money in tipping fees (the amount garbage haulers pay to dump their trucks into a landfill) to fund garbage and recycling efforts at smaller sites in Lane County, including Cottage Grove, and making people angry in the process, Sanipac and Cottage Grove Garbage have been hauling their garbage to Medford, a dumping site owned by Waste Solutions. This has driven up costs in our community due to the County’s loss in tipping fees. Currently, Sanipac owes millions to the County.

Why is Sanipac doing this? Sanipac, the biggest garbage hauler in Eugene and the only one in Springfield is now owned by a fortune 500 company, Waste Solutions. They made billions last year. Waste Solutions wants to starve the County so that they can make more money from garbage by monopolizing every step of the waste process.

Jake Pelroy’s current job is as a lobbyist for a number of “family-owned” garbage haulers like Sanipac in Lane County. A vote for Pelroy is a vote for big business having a heavy hand in our community, it’s a vote for stockholders over small stakeholders like us.

A vote for Heather Buch is a vote for someone who cares. She has demonstrated her commitment to our community. Ask anyone who has needed healthcare and used the South Lane Clinic here in the grove, or victims of wildfires who have benefitted from her being there and advocating for them. Ask anyone who has desperately needed housing and who does not benefit from big business and is now or is soon to be off our streets. Ask yourself: who is the best person for the job?

Molly Nord

Cottage Grove