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Metro composters available year-round

Sustainable living  ›  Composting guide  ›  Buy an Earth Machine compost bin

No need to mark your calendars or adjust weekend plans to attend special one-day sales. Residents of the tri-county Metro area will be able to purchase specially-priced home composting bins at the MetroPaint retail facility all year long.

Recycle your grass clippings, leaves, fruit and vegetable scraps into magic for your house plants or garden. It’s easy and inexpensive. Your plants will reward you with beautiful blooms and a bountiful harvest.

Where to buy

The Earth Machines compost bins are sold at the MetroPaint retail facility located on Swan Island at:

MetroPaint
4825 N Basin Avenue
Portland, Ore.

Hours:
Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Closed Sundays and Holidays

Cost: $35 per bin (an $80 retail value)

Quantities limited to supplies on hand. No holds or rainchecks. Details subject to change.

Driving directions

From I-5 north: Take exit 303, Killingsworth Street/Swan Island. Follow the sign for Swan Island which will put you on Going Street. When Going Street widens to three lanes, stay in the center lane, then veer right at the Y-intersection onto North Basin Avenue. Get into the left lane. MetroPaint will be the third driveway on your left at 4825 N. Basin Ave.

From I-5 south: Take exit 303, Alberta Street/Swan Island. Get in the right lane. Follow signs to Swan Island which will put you on Going Street. (Do not turn right on Interstate Avenue.) When Going Street widens to three lanes, stay in the center lane, then veer right at the Y-intersection onto North Basin Avenue. Get into the left lane. MetroPaint will be the third driveway on your left at 4825 N. Basin Ave.

Fast facts

• For 11 years Metro sold more than 89,000 Earth Machines throughout the region at weekend truckload sales...Visit the Earth Machine site
• Approximately 500 pounds of material is composted annually in each of these bins, which means that about 22,500 tons of material is diverted from the landfill.
• According to Metro’s 2004 report, "Home composting is working in the region," over three-fourths of these bins (78 percent) are used to compost fruit and vegetable scraps as well as yard debris...More from the report
  

Related Internet links

• Earth Machine

  (http://www.earthmachine.com/)