City of Roses Disposal & Recycling, the Portland firm that runs the COR Transfer Station, improperly discarded about 17 tons of plastic into a landfill between July 2024 and August 2025, even as it held on to millions of dollars in public contracts. Metro investigators flagged the violations and followed up with fines and a required operating improvement plan, and the company says the missteps were not intentional and that it has paid the penalty. The episode is putting fresh scrutiny on how the region monitors recyclers that accept construction and demolition loads.
What Metro found
Metro issued a violation notice in December 2025 after finding that roughly 17 tons of plastic from the company’s sorted loads were discarded in a landfill, a lapse first detailed by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Metro staff recommended limiting City of Roses’ franchise to a one-year renewal, but Metro’s public franchise documents show the agency approved a five-year franchise that takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, and the franchise application and related materials are posted by Metro.
Company response and penalties
City of Roses CEO Alando Simpson told officials the problem was "operational, not intentional" and said the firm had "strengthened our systems immediately," according to reporting. Metro spokesperson Nick Christensen told reporters the agency "regularly examines contract performance to ensure that our contractors are meeting their commitments," the coverage notes. Metro levied a $10,690 fine, City of Roses paid that penalty, and on Feb. 17, 2026, the company delivered an operating improvement plan, as reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
How public contracts stayed intact
Metro procurement materials and public records indicate City of Roses holds about $5.5 million in contracts with Metro and other public sites, including an approximately $400,000 agreement in 2024 to handle garbage and recycling at the Oregon Convention Center. Metro’s proposal evaluation documents show City of Roses scored 78.88 on the agency’s evaluation, narrowly above Recology’s 78.25, and the company earned maximum points in diversity and sustainability categories, which factored into staff recommendations. Those contract awards and evaluation scores help explain why the company remained a vendor even as staff urged closer scrutiny, and Metro’s notice and related documents are posted online by Metro.
Regulatory context
Portland’s code already requires that contractors recycle at least 75 percent of solid waste for building projects with total job costs above $50,000, a local rule that makes accurate reporting central to permitting and project budgets; see Portland city code Section 17.102.270 from the City of Portland. National certification frameworks intersect with those local rules: the U.S. Green Building Council awards LEED materials credits for construction waste programs that divert 50 percent (one point) or 75 percent (two points) of jobsite waste, so misreported loads can ripple into building certification and design decisions; see guidance from the U.S. Green Building Council.
What comes next
Metro and local building officials say they will continue monitoring contractor performance while agencies and clients review whether measurement and record-keeping practices are adequate. City of Roses says it is "leaning into" accountability as it updates procedures, and whether that restores confidence among public agencies and private builders will depend on transparent, verifiable improvements and independent checks of where sorted recyclables actually go.
