Garbage & Recycling

Events

RESIDENTIAL COLLECTION EVENT
Each spring, the City of Tukwila, along with King County and Washington State Department of Ecology, hosts an annual special event for all Tukwila residents to drop off “hard to recycle” items for recycling and reuse. Information on date, location, and materials will be advertised on our website and on social media.

TUKWILA ANNUAL YARD SALE
Each summer, Tukwila hosts a community-wide yard sale for Tukwila residents. Tukwila residents hold sales at their homes across the city on a single weekend. The City of Tukwila provides a free recycling information kit for each participant and publicizes the sale on social media and the City’s website. Residents receive sign-up information through the mail and on Tukwila’s website.

GARBAGE AND RECYCLING RESOURCES

Hard-to-recycle items

The Recology Store accepts hard-to-recycle materials that cannot be put into curbside recycling carts. Recology King County residential customers may drop off limited quantities of accepted hard-to-recycle items at any Recology Store location at no-cost. These special items include: CFL light bulbs, household batteries, textiles, hard-cover books, small electronics and appliances, block Styrofoam™, small propane cylinders, and bicycles.

View The Recology Store’s site to see the full list of what can be recycled.

Bulky item collection

Once each year, residential customers can schedule a no-cost collection of up to four non-appliance bulky items plus extra trash and smaller items (up to two cubic yards; a cubic yard is 3’ x 3’ x 3’.) Pickup will be during your normal collection day, but you must call 206.944.3900 ahead of time. Fees will apply if you schedule more bulky item collections during the year or if you schedule a pickup of an appliance. Click here for more information on fees and items collected or call Recology at 206.944.3900.

Paint disposal

Find a free drop-off site and call to confirm business hours and ensure that they will accept your type of paint. All your paint containers need to have lids and original labels. And make sure they are anchored into your vehicle securely!

Electronics recycling

E-Cycle Washington is a free program for residents that makes it easy  to recycle broken, obsolete, or worn-out monitors, computers, TVs, laptops, and more.  Electronic products contain valuable materials that can be recycled and toxic chemicals that should be kept out of the landfill.  For more information visit the E-Cycle program website.

King County “What Do I Do With?” database

This is an excellent resource for finding locations to recycle unusual items – all year round. Categories include batteries, paint, mattresses and more!  What Do I Do With?

Household hazardous waste materials and disposal

Visit this site to find out what is collected and when the next events are: Household Hazardous Waste Collection Locations
To learn more about household hazardous materials and proper disposal, visit the King County Hazardous Waste Management Program.

Medication disposal

Expired medication or medication that is no longer needed cannot be flushed. Find locations to safely dispose of medication for free at Medicine Take Back  via drop boxes or through the mail-back program.

Bow Lake Transfer Station

The King County Bow Lake Recycling & Transfer Station in Tukwila provides recycling services (including yard waste) and garbage disposal. The recycling area has different hours than the transfer station building.

Customers must live or do business within King County’s service area to use this facility.

Station hours (different from recycle area hours)
Mon-Thu: 24 hours
Fri: 12 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Sat-Sun: 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Recycle area hours (different from station hours)
Mon-Fri 6 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sat-Sun: 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Address: 18800 Orillia Rd S, Tukwila, WA 98188

This facility is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

COMPOSTING AT HOME

Tukwila residents can sign up for food & yard waste collection at home for a fee through Recology. Please contact Recology at 206-944-3900 or Tukwila@Recology.com for more information or to set up service.

For information about the benefits of composting and recipes to make compost at home, visit the following sites:

• King County Composting
• Seattle Public Utilities
• Tilth Alliance

Tukwila businesses may choose the recycler that best suits their needs from among those that serve the city. All businesses in the City of Tukwila that have garbage service with Recology are eligible for recycling dumpsters or carts and service at no additional cost. Recology also provides compost (yard waste and food waste) collection for a cost. To find out which items are recyclable, compostable, and garbage, visit:

• Recology sorting guides

For specialty item recycling and a complete list of all recyclers and composters that service Tukwila, see the Business Recycling Guide.

See the Environmentally Preferable Products Purchasing Guide for help in “greening” your business.

BUSINESS RECYCLING and Composting ASSISTANCE

The City of Tukwila can help your business, organization, or tenants save money and prevent waste by starting or improving on-site recycling or composting, waste prevention or “buy recycled” programs. All assistance is without cost. We can help you:

• Begin or improve a recycling or composting program.
• Identify current recycling rates.
• Increase recycling collection volumes and minimize disposal costs.
• Identify recycling opportunities for unique or challenging materials.
• Provide recycling education to employees, janitorial service providers, and tenants. Outreach can include presentations or booths by recycling experts.
• Furnish materials such as guides and stickers listing what can and cannot be recycled to place on recycling or composting containers.
• Provide internal recycling or composting containers (when available.)
• Promote resource conservation, waste prevention, and buying recycled-content products.

Our goal is to help you achieve a minimum 50% recycling rate! Please contact the City of Tukwila at Recycle@TukwilaWA.gov or (206) 431-2445 for more information.

TUKWILA GREENWORKS PROGRAM

Join the City of Tukwila’s GreenWorks Program and receive recognition for your organization’s recycling efforts!  By becoming a Tukwila GreenWorks member, you are also eligible to be recognized with the City’s “Recycler of the Year” award.

Your organization can become a Tukwila GreenWorks Member by:

• Practicing three or more waste prevention strategies.
• Recycling at least 40% of waste materials.
• Purchasing at least three sustainable products with recycled-content (for example, recycled-content paper.)

As a Tukwila GreenWorks member, you will receive:

• A letter of appreciation from the Mayor of Tukwila.
• A framed certificate of recognition.
• Recognition in a Tukwila publication/website.

To apply to become a Tukwila GreenWorks member:

• Download the Tukwila GreenWorks application and email it to Recycle@TukwilaWA.gov.

TUKWILA “BUSINESS RECYCLER OF THE YEAR” AWARD

Each year, Tukwila GreenWorks members are automatically entered for consideration as the “Recycler of the Year” and are judged by the City to determine the winner. The “Tukwila Business Recycler of the Year” receives recognition through the City of Tukwila website and is presented with an award to display at their business. See past winners here.

2022 BUSINESS RECYCLER OF THE YEAR

          Seattle Chocolate Company (Tukwila, WA)

Achievements:

• 61% recycling rate
• Make recycling and composting easy by placing accessible and clearly labeled containers throughout their facility
• Set up specialty recycling programs for plastic film, steel drums, shredded paper, and pallets
• Compost food and paper towels through a local composting facility
• Use compostable foil wrappers on their truffles and provide recyclable packaging for most other products
• Use ingredients that are sustainability sourced
• Implemented goals of reducing their overall carbon footprint by 10% each year

ENVIROSTARS PROGRAM

King County’s Best Workplaces Program has been replaced by the EnviroStars green business program.  EnviroStars allows self-tracking for all aspects of sustainability, including recycling and waste reduction, storm water, energy use, water conservation, transportation, and hazardous waste.

EnviroStars is a free, one-stop online hub for Washington businesses to get information, assistance, free resources, and recognition for actions that protect the environment and employee health and safety.

Visit EnviroStars.org or call the EnviroStars Hotline at (877) 220-7827 for information or application assistance.  The hotline offers free multilingual assistance for Spanish / Español, Vietnamese / 㗂越, Mandarin / 官话, Russian / ру́сский язы́к, Tagalog, Korean / 한국어, Amharic / አማርኛ, and Somali / ˜اَف صَومالي