Washington Counties Ring in New Year with Recycling Regs

As of January 1, Seattle Public Utilities and King County, Wash., Solid Waste are no longer accepting plastic bags or films in residential curbside recycling bins. Residents, instead, are asked to bundle thin plastic materials at home and then take them to drop-off sites at retail stores, KNKX reports.

In addition, Tacoma, Wash., residents can no longer put glass in their curbside bins and must instead bring them to drop-off boxes for recycling. They're also paying a monthly surcharge to maintain other recycling services. 

KNKX has more:

It's not only a new year but Jan. 1 also marks the start of new regulations on recycling for residents of King and Pierce counties. 

Seattle Public Utilities and King County Solid Waste are no longer accepting plastic bags or plastic wraps in curbside bins. (Pierce County already made this change). Instead, residents are asked to bundle these thin plastics up at home and take them to drop off sites at retail stores.

The main reason for the change is that thin plastics get caught in the gears of the sorting machines that separate different kinds of recycling.

Read the full article here.