Ridwell has taken Washington County to federal court in the fast-growing startup’s fight to run its specialty recycling collection service in unincorporated areas of the county.
The Seattle company filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Portland on Friday, asking the court to allow it to resume operations in the county and to declare invalid similar prohibitions elsewhere.
Ridwell last week bowed to the county’s order to halt its service, which had raised the hackles of trash haulers that have territory agreements to collect garbage and recycling from some 65,000 households. Ridwell said it has 1,600 subscribers in the county.
“In forcing Ridwell to cease operations, the county acted to impermissibly expand and protect the monopoly power of the waste haulers,” Ridwell charges in the complaint. “This is an improper purpose; as such, the county has acted in contravention of the state law that grants the county a limited power to provide such monopolies, and its actions are accordingly preempted.”
In December, Ridwell pulled out of unincorporated Clackamas County after that county told it to shut down. Various municipalities in the region have told Ridwell to get out, as well, although Portland has made way for the service.
Ridwell collects hard-to-recycle items such as batteries and film plastic that aren’t included in regular curbside programs. The company argues the unique service compels unique treatment in furtherance of “the state’s policy objective of prioritizing the recycling and reuse of materials to the maximum extent feasible before disposal.
“Ridwell only collects materials that are not accepted in curbside recycling bins provided by Waste Haulers with franchise licenses,” the complaint reads. “All materials that Ridwell members place in their bins would otherwise go to the landfill or would need to be driven to designated drop-off location for potential reclamation.”
Ridwell, which charges $12 to $16 a month for twice-monthly pickups, says it serves some 20,000 households in the Portland metro area, where it began operations in late 2020. Its white metal boxes with the orange Ridwell insignia have become a familiar sight on porches in the area.
The company last year sought an exemption from the franchise regulations in Washington County, and county staff supported that request. But the county’s Garbage and Recycling Advisory Committee voted it down, 4-2.
Ridwell charges that process was “fatally flawed.” Among other things, the company points in the lawsuit to the presence on the GRAC board of Beth Vargas Duncan, regional director of the Oregon Refuse & Recycling Association.
“In her capacity as ORRA Regional Director, Ms. Vargas Duncan sent a letter complaining that Ridwell is operating outside the franchise system to the city of Portland, advocating against Ridwell and in favor of the waste haulers,” the suit asserts.
Vargas Duncan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Since the rise of the Ridwell service, Washington County’s certified haulers have proposed a service similar to Ridwell’s that customers could receive at an additional cost of $5.50 to $7 per collection.
The county board of commissioners this week asked staff to develop a new collection program through the current garbage and recycling haulers, according to a post on the “Hot Topics" page of the county's website.
As for Ridwell’s federal complaint, a Washington County spokesperson said the county has a policy of not commenting on lawsuits against it.
