Solid/Hazardous Waste Management

Solid Waste Division (SWD)

Percent of single-family curbside solid waste stream that is recycled.

2008 Results: 55%.

2008 Target: 55%.

2009 Target: 56%.

Influencing Factors: In 2008, the King County Solid Waste Division continued to work closely with cities and haulers to increase the availability of food waste recycling services. The percentage of single-family households that could recycle food scraps with yard waste collected at the curb increased from 57 percent in November 2007 to 98 percent in January 2009. The Division also continued to implement the "Recycle Food. It's Easy to Do." and the "Recycle more. It's Easy to Do." media campaigns, both of which have resulted in increased participation in recycling programs. In 2008, two additional television ads were added to the "Recycle Food. It's Easy to Do" campaign. In addition, recycling "how to" guides were distributed by commercial collection companies to over 137,000 customers - 61,000 more than in 2007.

Strategy Going Forward: These efforts will continue in 2009. In addition, the "Recycle More. It's Easy to Do." campaign will specifically target areas of the county that are recycling 30 percent or less.

Technical Notes: The data is countywide except for: a) the cities of Seattle and Milton, which are not in the King County solid waste system; and b) Snoqualmie Pass and the Skykomish area, which have limited colection services.

Pounds of solid waste disposed per single-family household per week.

2008 Results: 26 pounds per week.

2008 Target: 26 pounds per week.

2009 Target: 25 pounds per week.

Influencing Factors: The amount of materials (both solid waste and recycling) discarded by single-family households declined by three percent in 2008. The declining economy is probably a major reason for this reduction. However, solid waste disposal per household decreased by six percent compared to a one percent decrease in recycling. Some of this reduction in solid waste disposal can be attributed to increased use of food waste collection services. In 2008, the King County Solid Waste Division continued to work closely with cities and haulers to increase the availability of food waste recycling services. The percentage of single-family households that could recycle food scraps with yard waste collected at the curb increased from 57 percent in November 2007 to 98 percent in January 2009. The Division also continued to implement the "Recycle Food. It's Easy to Do." and the "Recycle more. It's Easy to Do" media campaigns, both of which have resulted in increased participation in recycling programs. In 2008, two additional television ads were added to the "Recycle Food. It's Easy to Do" campaign. In addition, recycling "how to" guides were distributed by commercial collection companies to over 137,000 customers - 61,000 more than in 2007.

Strategy Going Forward: These efforts will continue in 2009. In addition, the "Recycle More. It's Easy to Do." campaign will specifically target areas of the county that are recycling 30 percent or less.

Technical Notes: The data is countywide except for: a) the cities of Seattle and Milton, which are not in the King County solid waste system; and b) Snoqualmie Pass and the Skykomish area, which have limited collection services.

Pounds of solid waste disposed per employee per week countywide.

2008 Results: 2008 data not available until September 2009.

2007 Target: 23.5 pounds per week.

2007 Results: 26.4 pounds per week.

2008 Target: 23.5 pounds per week.

2009 Target: 23.5 pounds per week.

Influencing Factors: In 2007, garbage disposal was slightly higher than the county's target of 23.5 pounds per employee per week. This was due to a still expanding economy in early 2007 and because most of the recycling programs are targeting the residential sector. A decline in disposal per employee is expected in 2008 due to the declining economy.

Strategy Going Forward: The strategy for 2007 is for SWD to work with cities to increase recycling services in the non-residential sector.

Technical Notes: The data is countywide except for: a) the cities of Seattle and Milton, which are not in the King County solid waste system; Vashon Island, and includes the Snohomish Cuonty part of the City of Bothell.

Residents' recycling and disposal behavior via EBI

About this measure: The King County Environmental Behavior Index (EBI) tracks and reports on the adoption of selected environmental behaviors of King County residents. In 2004 and again in 2006, 1000 randomly selected respondents in King County participated in a telephone survey and reported on their household's behaviors related to:

• Yard Care
• Recycling And Disposal
• Environmentally Friendly Purchasing

Understanding residents' awareness and behavior guides a more cost-effective targeting of outreach efforts and helps evaluate whether the efforts to improve these behaviors are making a difference.

The 2006 Environmental Behavior Index was conducted in spring of 2006. The findings about yard care and purchasing behavior can be found under the performance measure on solid and hazardous waste management, which is here.

Below are details on findings for residential recycling and disposal behaviors.

2006 results: The 2006 survey of residents' recycling and disposal behaviors indicates that use of recycle containers at home is high and improving, as is proper disposal of paints, kitchen grease and prescription drugs. Proper disposal of compact fluorescent light and tubes is low and is slightly declining.

Influencing factors: In 2006, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance making it illegal and punishable by fine to put selected recyclables in the garbage. There was significant media coverage of this new legislation, which likely influenced both awareness and behavior of residents throughout King County.

Strategy going forward: SWD will continue to work with cities to allow food waste recycling with yard debris. The SWD is partnering on a recycling education campaign, "Recycle More, Its Easy to Do" and is making further improvements to its Web site about general and food waste recycling.

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Seattle - King County Local Hazardous Waste Program

About this measure: This measure is a composite index of actions aimed at reducing exposure to hazardous materials. Below are descriptions and ratings of 5 key 2007 program areas of the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program and a rating of the degree that targets for these actions were met.

Waste pharmaceuticals project

Full implementation of the largest pilot unused medicine collection project in the United States.

Chart: # collection sites in WA on y axis, years ('06, '07, '08) on x axis (target revised to 30 total sites)

2006 results: 7 sites

2007 results: 25 sites

2008 target: 30

2007 results: Green. 25 Group Health Cooperative sites collecting waste medicines

Influencing factors: As a pilot project, new hurdles keep appearing. All clinical pharmacies in the Group Health system are finally operational after clearing many logistical hurdles. A few Bartell Drugs' retail pharmacies are next to roll out in '08.

Strategy going forward: Pilot project to wrap up in late '08 after testing a pharmacy take-back model. Having a few Bartell Drugs' sites will help to fully test this approach in addition to the Group Health sites. We will push for drug manufacturers and retailers to take over the long-term collection of unused medicines via a product stewardship system.

Nail salon English-as-a-second language business project

The purpose of this project is to work with nail salon workers for whom English is a second language to reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals.

2007 results: Green. Developed "healthy nail salon" guidelines in collaboration with the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, U.S. EPA and other partners. Tram Duong, ECOSS partner, visited 19 salons, four beauty schools and three nail supply distributors.

Influencing factors: Many connections made with the nail salon industry and with Vietnamese-American community to build trust, research concerns, and develop safer alternative products and practices. Working with local NGO partners helps reach an audience skeptical of working directly with government.

Strategy going forward: Continue outreach to salons where Vietnamese-Americans are owners or predominant workers. Increase level of contacts and reach within this community. Achieve 50 salons implementing the suggested best management practices in '08 and 87 implementing best practices in '09.

Healthy schools project

The focus of this project is to reduce or eliminate exposures to key hazardous chemicals in all King County schools

2007 results: Yellow. 55 school inspections were completed, looking for mercury, lead glazes and high risk chemicals. Elemental mercury continued to be found in schools, and was removed. Explosive old chemicals such as crystallized ethyl ether were also uncovered and safely removed.

Influencing factors: We had hoped that we could rely on past inspections done through the Rehab the Lab project to assure that schools were, for example, mercury-free, but have found instead that pockets of old products continue to turn up. In addition to science lab supplies, our focus is turning to art supplies, where lead ceramic glazes, hexane-acetone glues and other high hazards are common.

Strategy going forward: Keep working with individual schools, school districts and the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Develop high risk chemicals ratings and lists that can be disseminated by the state to influence all schools across Washington. Target for '08: 100 schools provides with guidance and incentives for removal and proper disposal of mercury and high hazard art chemicals.

Low-income governmental housing

The aim of this project is to reduce exposures to key hazardous chemicals found in public housing within King County.

2007 results: Yellow. Developed signed agreements with two out of three public housing authorities to eliminate and properly dispose of all mercury-containing thermostats as well as implement some pesticide-reduction strategies.

Influencing factors: Local housing authorities are stretched thin, yet are interested in working with us on a variety of hazardous chemical reduction strategies, both in their facilities and landscapes and in getting useful information directly to their residents.

Strategy going forward: Continue work with housing authorities, looking for avenues where our services best match their needs. In addition to mercury-reduction through fluorescent lamp recycling and thermostat change-outs, we will focus on integrated pest management techniques in '08 to explore ways to reduce pesticide use.

Flood hazard zones

This project aims to prevent the release of hazardous chemicals in the event of major river flooding in King County.

2007 results: Yellow. Completed 10 site visits of potential problem areas in the Snoqualmie Valley; gathered best management practice guidelines for storage and use of hazardous materials in flood zones from federal and other sources.

Influencing factors: Each flood zone valley within King County has a different mix of issues, from predominantly agricultural in the Snoqualmie to commercial and industrial developments in the Green. No one size fits all in terms of best management practices or outreach mechanisms.

Strategy going forward: We will continue to explore the best approaches to hazardous material storage concerns in areas subject to major river flooding and to work with those agencies, local governments and businesses who know flood-related issues the best.

2007 target: Draft best management practices for.

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