Recycling & Waste Collection

The City of Kent is committed to ensuring that the collection of recycling, solid waste and yard waste is provided as a service to all of our residents.

Garbage service is mandatory for all occupied buildings, per Kent City Code 7.03. When signing up for curbside garbage service, residential customers will receive a blue recycling cart and a green food/yard waste cart, in a choice of sizes, at no additional charge. 

Rates are determined by the size of your garbage can. You can lower your rate by recycling more. The city is member to an inter-local agreement (ILA) with King County Solid Waste and most jurisdictions in King County. 

As a partner to the ILA, all municipal solid waste generated in the City of Kent must be taken to King County’s Cedar Hills Landfill located near Maple Valley. The City of Kent contracts with Republic Services for garbage and recycling services for commercial and residential customers.

Bow Lake Recycling & Transfer Station is Kent's closest Recycling & Transfer Station.  Located at 18800 Orillia Rd S, in Tukwila Bow Lake is the busiest transfer station in King County. It includes a waste transfer building, scale house, and recycling areas.

Seasonal Recycling Events

Each year the City of Kent hosts a number of free recycling collection events that allow residents to dispose of recyclable items not typically accepted at the curb. Instead of going to the landfill as trash, all collected items will be reused or recycled. 

In 2022 alone, over 2,470 cars came through our recycling events, resulting in 2,582 total items and a 411,035 total pounds of recycled material.

Composting

Composting is a process that converts organic materials into nutrient-rich soil or mulch through natural decomposition.

Our Parks Department utilizes compost and wood chips as part of managing healthy landscapes. These materials return nutrients to the soil through decomposition, support crucial soil biota, retain moisture during dry summer months, and assist with managing weeds and other undesirable vegetation.

In landscaped areas of our parks, they help minimize the use of chemicals and phosphates; and in natural areas of our parks, mulch and woodchip use maintains more natural nutrient cycles, helps with plant survival in restoration areas and can prevent new weed invasions that are otherwise likely in areas with disturbed bare soil.

Compostable organic material is generated in the course of general parks operations activities. Green material such as branches and leaf material from hedging and trimming are consolidated at the city’s operation shops facilities and then sent to regional composting facilities.

Trees and branches removed from park sites are chipped by staff and then stored for later use at various locations as needs for mulch arise. This prevents the monetary and emissions costs of removing material and prevents having to buy mulch later, all while providing the benefits of use mentioned above. Mulch, compost, soil and sand blends are primarily sourced from local vendors, which also decreases associated carbon footprint and financial costs.

Litter Reduction

Adopter Programs

The Adopt-A-Spot Program is a year-round partnership between the City and neighborhood groups, businesses and residents to help reduce litter and keep Kent's public spaces clean and beautiful. With over 320 miles of streets and sidewalks, community partners are needed to pitch-in to pick-up.

The Adopt-A-Street program offers individuals, local businesses and organizations an opportunity to beautify Kent by picking up litter along the streets. Removing litter improves safety and the appearance of the community, and also prevents pollution from entering drainage systems and waterways.

TeamUp2CleanUp

Each spring and fall the City of Kent hosts TeamUp2CleanUp: a litter cleanup event where community members work to beautify Kent as individuals or in teams at various locations around the city.

Seasonal Recycling Events

Each year the City of Kent hosts a number of free recycling collection events that allow residents to dispose of recyclable items not typically accepted at the curb. Instead of going to the landfill as trash, all collected items will be reused or recycled!

Curbside Cleanups

With Kent's annual Spring and Fall Curbside clean-up programs, residents may rid themselves of extra yard waste and garbage. The events are free to all residential households in Kent. Simply place your extra garbage and yard waste at the curb on your regular yard waste pick-up day. 

The City of Kent has partnered with Uplift Northwest, a Seattle non-profit temporary staffing organization that connects workers to employers in the Puget Sound Region, to help clean up general litter in right-of-way areas throughout the city.

The partnership will continue until the allocated budget of the program is spent no later than 2026. Uplift Northwest provide job training, dignified work opportunities, and support services to men and women experiencing poverty and homelessness.