# Is recycling mandatory in the State of Washington? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 30, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808 "2010-12-30T06:56:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808/21 "2011-01-01T06:41:16Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > And recycling is included in that fee/service. Hmph! I remember when consumers got _paid_ for recycling. 24¢ per pound of aluminum, 5¢ for each glass pop bottle, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808/22 "2011-01-01T07:21:55Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > The city provides a heavy-lidded wheeled container in varying sizes. Meat and dairy are fine in them, as well as yard vegetation and food-soiled paper products. It’s picked up every week. If you have meat to compost that you fear will stink before the end of the week, you can always keep it in the freezer until pickup day. That would work better than I imagined particularly if the lids could be latched. Having a hard time picturing minor amounts of meat getting segregated. Other than a few pieces of grizzle the only meat I can see recycling is a roasted chicken that gets de-boned. it would be quite a mess to recycle it. It would take a serious ad campaign to start something like that in my area but I understand the need in Seattle due to the weather and land available. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808/23 "2011-01-01T07:44:08Z")
In the July 1993 issue of **US Mayor,** then-Seattle mayor Norm Rice said “Our recycling program has been a great success. The only problem is, there’s not enough demand for the recycled goods.” We in the private sector have a word for that kind of success. Twenty years in, I’m surprised Seattle’s citizens haven’t taken a hard, critical look at the program. No, it’s not mandatory in Washington. Eastern Washington is practically a separate state culturally, and this is just one issue that has my old pals in Wenatchee laughing derisively at the cappuccino-drinking lib’rals west of the Cascades. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808/24 "2011-01-01T07:57:38Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > Hmph! I remember when consumers got _paid_ for recycling. 24¢ per pound of aluminum, 5¢ for each glass pop bottle, etc. That’s actually a problem for recycling in dense areas. People go through the alley the night before trash day and mine the bins for aluminum which is about the only paying part of the program. The city ends up with the plastic that doesn’t pay for itself. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808/25 "2011-01-01T17:10:28Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > No, it’s not mandatory in Washington. Eastern Washington is practically a separate state culturally, and this is just one issue that has my old pals in Wenatchee laughing derisively at the cappuccino-drinking lib’rals west of the Cascades. /Waves from Wenatchee! Over here, Waste Management, Inc. gives us two separate bins — a large one for ordinary trash and a slightly smaller one for recyclables. We used to have separate, small tubs for each type (metal, paper, plastic), but now it all goes into one bin and WMI apparently has a machine that can separate the different types. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808/26 "2011-01-01T18:10:54Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > In the July 1993 issue of **US Mayor,** then-Seattle mayor Norm Rice said “Our recycling program has been a great success. The only problem is, there’s not enough demand for the recycled goods.” We in the private sector have a word for that kind of success. Twenty years in, I’m surprised Seattle’s citizens haven’t taken a hard, critical look at the program. I would need a cite fewer than 17.5 years old that there is a lack of demand for recycled goods. Everything I’ve heard is that the recycling programs here are cost effective as compared to landfilling the same items. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808/27 "2011-01-01T18:17:20Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Not interested in debating it but you asked a question. My city provides me with their garbage receptacle and their recycling receptacle. Garbage in one, recycling in the other. There is no separation of recycling material and I wouldn’t want scavengeable material in a open container. When you say the city provides you with the receptables, do you mean without cost? Or if you pay, can you opt for a smaller/larger receptacle for less/more cost? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808/28 "2011-01-01T18:54:54Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > When you say the city provides you with the receptables, do you mean without cost? Or if you pay, can you opt for a smaller/larger receptacle for less/more cost? In Tacoma (public utility rather than private company), there are three or four sizes of garbage container available, each with its associated fee. Recycling and yard waste containers are free of charge. Garbage is picked up weekly while recycling and yard waste alternate weeks. There’s no ordinance or regulation mandating recycling — apparently the theory is that making recycling free while increasing the fee for a larger garbage container is sufficient incentive. (And just to point out something that’s been implied in the previous responses, the SoW has no position on recycling, except perhaps at a philosophical level. Rules & regulations vary considerably depending on who collects the trash.) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808/29 "2011-01-01T21:31:38Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > When you say the city provides you with the receptables, do you mean without cost? Or if you pay, can you opt for a smaller/larger receptacle for less/more cost? One size fits all garbage container and laundry basket-size recycle bin. It’s paid for out of city taxes. They don’t track usage in any way so there is no way to opt out. Land for burying trash is not a concern in my area. We use to incinerate it all but that option is no longer available. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-recycling-mandatory-in-the-state-of-washington/565808.md?page=1)