Metro is asking customers who use its trash transfer stations for dumping dry 'self-haul' waste, such as construction debris and furniture, to refrain from doing so until March 1.
"We have significant quantities of garbage in our transfer stations due to the weather conditions in the Gorge that have made it difficult for us to send garbage from our transfer stations to the landfill near Arlington, [Oregon]," said Metro spokesperson Ken Ray.
The agency usually plans for a few bad weather days in the Gorge, Ray said, but this year travel has been particularly difficult.
"I-84 has been difficult to get through for at least a week now. It’s been about a week since we’ve had a normal number of trucks going out to the landfill," Ray said. "And weather forecasts this weekend and next week do not look promising.”
Customers who are looking to drop off hazardous waste, or those who self-haul their own wet garbage, can continue to do so at the Metro transfer stations in Northwest Portland and Oregon City, but they can expect long wait times.
Those who are determined to get rid of their dry waste in the next few weeks can go to alternate facilities, Ray said. A list of those facilities is available on Metro's website.