STOP expansion of the
Coffin Butte Landfill
The Coffin Butte Landfill is not smart, clean, reliable or safe. It is already polluting air and water and violating environmental laws.
Making it larger will only make all this worse.
WE NEED A PARADIGM SHIFT.
Here are the facts.
“We aren’t paying landfill companies to dispose of our trash; we’re paying them to turn it into future public health hazards that we’ll end up footing the bill for.”
• The landfill is NOT OWNED, OPERATED OR CONTROLLED by Benton County.
• The landfill is owned and operated by Republic Services, the second largest waste management company in the United States. And they want to expand it.
• The landfill is controlled by Republic Services from their corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona – THAT IS NOT LOCAL CONTROL.
A NEW landfill would likely NEVER be permitted in this region today; why then is it okay to EXPAND one here? IT’S NOT. It’s a loophole. The EPA, DEQ and Benton County are not cracking down on this massive industrial operation. With little to no oversight, Republic Services gets away with impunity.
• This is NOT just A LOCAL ISSUE, and NOT something the public gets to vote on — it is NOT decided in an election.
• This dump will be an Environmental LIABILITY for generations to come.
• It will also be a long-term Financial LIABILITY.
• Fully one-third of all the garbage in Western Oregon comes to this dump.
• It is an un-planned, accidental, terrible location for a landfill.
• “Dump days” (when the stink is so bad it drives people indoors) are a regular occurrence.
• In our opinion, Republic Services is a bad actor.
• If ANY expansion is approved, that opens the door to this becoming a “forever” landfill.
In summary: We need a paradigm shift. Landfilling is the worst disposal option. Unfortunately, it is also the status quo. Humans will continue to landfill garbage as long as landfilling is easy and cheap. Alternatives to landfilling will not be seriously considered until that changes. So FIRST we must STOP the expansion, in order to force the conversation in the right direction. This is not easy, but it is THE RIGHT THING TO DO. For everyone’s future.
LATEST EXPANSION NEWS
August 13, 2026
Republic Services appealed Commissioners denial to LUBA on March 17. VNEQS and others file to intervene and bolster County's denial.
On March 3, Benton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) reversed their 2:1 “approval” of Republic Services (RS) application to expand, now unanimously DENYing it. [Commissioners Malone and Wyse changed their vote; Commissioner Shepherd denied from the beginning.]
Two weeks later, RS submitted a Notice of Intent to Appeal the BOC’s denial decision to LUBA (state Land Use Board of Appeals).
VNEQS, Sierra Club, Mid-Willamette Bird Alliance and a small group of individuals are all “intervening” on the County’s behalf to bolster their “denial” position.
Before the appeal process can proceed, Benton County must submit a copy of “the Record” to LUBA (only what’s “in the record” can be referred to in briefs/arguments before LUBA, so it is extremely important that it be comprehensive and usable by all parties). There are strict rules on how the record must be submitted. As a party in this case, VNEQS reviewed the County’s draft “record” and found significant errors and omissions, so through our attorney (thanks to all your generous donations!) we have been working on getting them to correct it. Unknown how long this stage will take.
Also unknown is how long this LUBA process will take overall; there are many steps. Could be months. Keep an eye on this space for updates!
Meanwhile: Don’t take down your STOP the Expansion yard signs! This is not over.
"Trash Town USA" DOCUMENTARY
*** If you missed the Darkside Cinema premier of the short documentary about our grassroots battle against the landfill expansion and hope for the future – you can now watch it here: Trash Town USA ***