Recycling

News and Events

Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Local Boy Scout troops will be coming through neighborhoods to collect Christmas Trees for a $5 donation on January 7th.   Trees must be at the curb by 8:00am.  Trees with tinsel and/or flock will not be accepted.  You can also drop trees off at the Service Club Ballfields, 14608 SE 288th Street, where Scouts will be on hand to help unload them.

If you’re still enjoying your tree and cannot part with it, your next opportunity to recycle it will be on your regularly scheduled garbage day during the week of January 9-13.  If your tree is taller than five feet, be sure to cut it in half.  Trees must be devoid of decorations and placed at the curb for pickup by 7:00am.

Mark These Dates on Your Calendar… 

• March 17^th – Residential Recycling event
• March 24^th – Composter/Rainbarrel Sale
• June 2^nd – Residential Recycling event, (site to be determined)
• August 9^th – Business Recycling event
• October 20^th – Residential Recycling event

All but the June 2^nd event will be held at Russell Rd. Park.  Hours for all but the Composter/Rainbarrel Sale are 9:00am-3:00pm.  Sale hours start at 9:00 and continue until composters and rainbarrels are sold out (these go quickly, so don’t be late).

Solid Waste Inclement Weather Policy:  

Snow season is here!  If the white stuff hits – be aware that garbage service may be disrupted.  Your vehicle may be able to maneuver through the slush, but you don’t want a 30 ton truck sliding into you or into your yard!   A good tip:   If you don’t see school busses, you more than likely won’t see the garbage truck!

Double the usual amount of garbage will be picked up on your normal garbage day the following week.  To get notified of service disruptions, be sure that Allied Waste has a current phone number for you, and, if you’d like to get an email, provide them with your email address.  Call them at 206-682-9735, or visit www.AlliedWasteKent.com.

Save Money on your Garbage Bill

Check out our  webpage for some quick tips and resource guides for lowering your garbage bill.

Hazardous Waste Fee Increase

The King County Board of Health recently approved an increase of the Hazardous Waste Fee that will go into effect January 1, 2012. This is a fee included on all garbage bills in King County. In Kent, this is listed as a line item labeled Hazardous Waste Fee on bills sent by Allied Waste.

Solid Waste customers will see the increase on their quarterly bills beginning January 1, 2012. The current residential hazardous waste fee is $0.80 per month or $2.40 per quarter. Effective January 1, 2012, this will increase to $1.08 per month or $3.24 per quarter. Non-residential hazardous waste fees are currently $9.07 per month and will increase to $11.24 per month.

King County Raises Disposal Rates Effective January 1, 2012.

Effective January 1, 2012, solid waste customers will be seeing a slight increase in their quarterly garbage bills. King County Council voted to increase disposal rates at the landfill from $95 to $109 per ton. Customers with a 32 gallon garbage cart, will see an increase of 57 cents a month on their bill. This is the first increase in four years, and will impact all cities in King County utilizing the County’s solid waste management system. The increase, will cover the cost of expanding the county’s last remaining landfill and updating the existing solid waste infrastructure, some of which is over fifty years old.

Kent’s solid waste rates remain one of the cheapest rates in King County. Garbage rates in Kent consist of a disposal portion and a collection portion. The County’s increase will only affect the disposal portion of Kent’s rates. The City anticipates a slight rate increase on the collection portion in April 2012, based on specific economic indicators in the contract with Allied Waste.

For customers wanting to reduce the impact of the increase, this is a good opportunity to once again review the Recycling Guide for what more can be recycled to allow for reduction in size of your garbage cart. For more information on the increase and ways to reduce your cost, please visit AlliedWasteKent.com or call (206)682-9735, or King County at 206-296-4466.