Under the state's solid waste management laws, local governments are the primary government entity responsible for implementing state solid waste management requirements. The Department of Ecology (Ecology) also has certain roles in overseeing the administration of solid waste management laws. Ecology is responsible for working cooperatively with local governments as they develop their local solid waste management plans.
The Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) regulates haulers transporting solid waste, garbage, and recyclables from residential sites. The certificate to transport garbage and recyclables sets the geographic areas in which the company is authorized to collect waste. Cities and towns have the authority to provide their own solid waste services or to contract for solid waste services. Solid waste services provided or contracted by cities and towns are not subject to UTC regulation. Materials collected for recycling are transported to material recovery facilities, which receive, compact, repackage or sort materials for the purposes of recycling.
Local governments must make available on the local government's solid waste website summary information related to whether the fees and rates borne by the following categories of customers are proportionate to the costs of providing services to those categories of customers:
This information must be posted by counties for the portions of the county subject to Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) rate setting procedures, and by cities and town in the portion of cities and towns where the city or town provides solid waste handling. If fee and rate costs borne by each category of customer are not proportionate to the costs of providing services to a category of customers, the local government must post on its website an explanation of why its rates and fees have been fixed in that manner. This information must be updated when local government solid waste rates are changed.
The UTC must develop guidance by July 1, 2024 regarding the standardized display of solid waste rate summary information, including a methodology for assessing the proportionality of local government fees and rates. Cities, counties, and towns must begin submitting summary information to the UTC by January 1, 2025, and within 30 days of a solid waste rate update. The UTC must submit a report to the Legislature by November 1, 2025, assessing the proportionality of solid waste rates of local governments, and best practices for local governments to ensure equity and proportionality in its fees and rates, as well as changes to state laws and practices related to solid waste fees and rates that would increase fee and rate equity and proportionality across different classes of customers.