Description
Nearly 20 percent of single-family households in King County do not have organics (food and yard waste) recycling services—rising to almost 50 percent in unincorporated King County. This represents a significant opportunity to increase waste diversion and recycling and reduce GHG emissions. The County will work to ensure all single-family King County residents subscribe to organics services or actively manage food waste on-site by 2030 and investigate a pathway for multifamily organics service adoption. About 81 percent of King County single-family households using waste collection services also choose the additional curbside organics collection service offered. However, reaching the additional households who do not subscribe to curbside organics service or otherwise separately manage organics materials represents a significant opportunity. Some residents will be required to divert organics by 2030 under the statewide Organics Management law, but 21 jurisdictions (with populations below 25,000 residents or that dispose of less than 5,000 tons of solid waste annually) within King County are exempt. To increase access to organics services, the County will develop and adopt code recommendations and work with city partners to adopt code changes requiring diversion of food waste for single-family households and to create a strategy for ensuring multi-family households have more opportunities to divert organic material.