Drafter
Clerk 07/24/2026
Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to the source separation, collection, and management of organics for certain businesses located in unincorporated King County; amending Ordinance 8101, Section 4, as amended, and K.C.C. 10.04.020, adding a new chapter to K.C.C. Title 10, prescribing penalties, and establishing an effective date.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. King County has an adopted goal codified in K.C.C. 10.14.020 to achieve zero waste of resources by 2030 through maximum feasible and cost-effective prevention, reuse, and reduction of solid wastes going into its landfills and other processing facilities. This goal is also reflected in other county plans, including the 2025 Strategic Climate Action Plan, the 2019 Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, and the Re+ Strategic Plan.
2. According to the Re+ Strategic Plan, King County households and businesses threw out over 135,000 tons of food in 2019, which could have been transformed into compost and instead is estimated to emit approximately 39,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually from the landfill.
3. The 2025 Strategic Climate Action Plan and Re+ Strategic Plan both outline specific strategies that King County expects to take to achieve its zero waste of resources goal and its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, including providing technical support to local businesses to increase the diversion of organics, including food waste, from the landfill.
4. In 2022, Chapter 180, Laws of Washington 2022, and in 2024, Chapter 341, Laws of Washington 2024, were enacted, sections of which were codified in chapter 70A.205 RCW ("The Organics Management Laws").
5. The Organics Management Laws, among other things, require that applicable businesses generating above certain volumes of organic materials shall arrange for "organics materials management" services, which is defined in RCW 70A.205.015 and which may include source separating organic material from other waste a...
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