Salem Health will spend another million dollars a year to get rid of its trash after the Salem City Council voted unanimously to raise disposal rates a month after the Brooks garbage incinerator stopped taking the county’s garbage.
The change will bring the hospital system’s bill for bio and regular waste to nearly $2 million for 2025, spokeswoman Lisa Wood told Salem Reporter via email.
That includes an increase of about $700,000 for bio waste costs and more than $400,000 for regular waste costs.
In 2023 Salem Health’s expenses were $1.1 billion, according to the most recent available tax filing from the organization.
The incinerator’s operator, Reworld Marion, formerly known as Covanta, announced in the fall that it would be shuttering or selling the facility which has incinerated the county’s trash, including medical waste from around the Pacific Northwest, for decades.
In December the incinerator stopped accepting waste. Marion County’s medical waste now goes to Bio Clean, a local company offering the lowest-cost alternative option, said Ryan Zink, the city’s franchise manager.
The new rates, which kick in on Feb. 1, were increased by 168%. Salem Hospital will now have to pay $28.55 for 35 gallons of medical waste, compared to $10.65 in 2024. Wood said Salem health generates about 20 tons of medical waste per month.
During Monday’s council meeting, City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke said Reworld Marion’s departure is a good thing and will reduce respiratory risks, cancer risks and overall poor air quality especially for the communities living near the facility.
“Goodbye and good riddance, Reworld. Burning garbage is terrible for our environment. It is well known that when you burn garbage it hurts our kids, our air, everything around us. It can have significant environmental and health harms,” Nordyke said. “As a general rule, rich people don’t live next to incinerators. So, there is an environmental justice component by saying goodbye and good riddance to this incinerator.”
Medical waste rates have also increased for Marion County providers outside Salem city limits.
Marion County Commissioners increased medical waste collection rates by 70% in December. Those rates apply to providers outside city limits like Santiam Hospital.
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.