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Get ready for a new garbage day

Posted by Geeky Swedes on February 27th, 2009

In an effort to divert 60 percent of waste to recycling or composting by 2012, the city is making changes to garbage collection. Starting next week, the city will be taping notices to your garbage can outlining the changes that begin on March 30th. One of the big changes will be your garbage day. The city says that most Seattle residents will be getting a new collection day. Other changes:

  • All food scraps, including meat, fish, bones, shells and dairy products, can go in the food and yard waste cart.
  • More food/yard waste cart sizes to choose from, including 13-, 32- and 96-gallon options.
  • Weekly food and yard waste collection for all single-family households. Organics were previously collected every other week.
  • Electronics, used motor oil and bulky items can be collected through special services.
  • Glass bottles and jars go in the recycling cart - no more separating!
  • More paper, plastic and metal items can be recycled, including cups, deli trays, aluminum foil and plastic plant pots.

As we wrote earlier this month, residents can already start to combine glass recycling in with other recyclables.

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  • Goofy Norwegian
    Just when I got this down fairly good, they go and change again. Much like finally knowing where stuff is at the store and they move everything. Such is life.
  • JK
    Plus, I don't understand the big secret about the new day -- they keep saying most of us will get a new day in a month.

    Well, shouldn't they have a pretty solid plan of who/where/when by now? Why the build-up and reveal?
  • Mr. B in Ballard
    Awesome! I for one am very excited that the city is making such a commitment to recycling. For all the complaints I hear about the mayor and his developer stance - this is one thing that i think he's getting right.
  • kim
    does anyone know if they are charging different rates for the yard waste since they have different sizes now?
  • jeffo
    do you think I could stuff a human body in the yard waste? what's the weight limit again?
  • bmvaughn
    That seems silly to combine glass and recycling... so now there's going to be all kinds of broken glass in the recycling bin when before it was confined to the glass bin.
  • Barney Rubble
    Will they be collecting the old glass bins?
  • Ballardian
    I believe you can either keep your glass
    bin for alternative uses...I occasionally
    use mine when weeding....
    OR
    leave it out after the switch and they will pick it
    up and recycle it ;-)
  • Buzzy
    They are chaging about $3.5o more for the yardwaste container. Instead of $10.15 it will be 13.85. We are losing the extra can that you can put out now with it. Instead for every bundle you will pay an extra $2.85. The regular garbage can size is going up also. When asked why so much for regular garbage can rate increase also, she said we would be doing more reclying so it should reduce our can size. When I told her, I would not put slop into my cans because of the rat problem in ballard, she said I could be fined, if I didn't recycle.

    I'm all for the food containers an paper plates and cups in it, but food scraps no way. The glass bins will be picked up if wanted. All you need to do is put it up side down on top of the can. Although they are suggesting that you can use it for storage etc.

    I called the garbage co. at the end of the year when noticing that the truck driver was tossing our glass container into the paper cans and then dumping it into the truck. The person on the phone just said we couldn't do this until April, but didn't want any information on who or area this driver was doing it in. Since then it has been a regular thing for him to dump all glass into the paper bins then into the truck. So I quit the hassle of doing it also.
  • Lefty
    Nothing more then feel good BS combined with a rate increase.
  • david t.
    I wish they'd give me a bigger container to put all this crap in. They keep expanding on what I can put in there but the containers stya the same. That's why my stuff blows down the street. Sorry to those who live to the south.

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