Public Works Environmental Services
Updates from the Solid Waste & Recycling and Surface Water Division
Only A Few Days Left In Orca Month!

June is Orca Month. Check out the Orca Month Facebook page all month long for daily posts of orca-related webinars, podcasts, kids activities, story times, interviews and actions you can take to support the recovery of the Southern Resident orcas.
Free Virtual Workshop: Pollinator Friendly Gardening
Join us virtually for our next Green Living Workshop: Pollinator Friendly Gardening on Tuesday, July 7 at 6 PM. Learn how you can turn your garden into a space that is not only beautiful to look at, but that also provides much needed habitat for birds, bees, butterflies and other beneficial bugs.

Click on the photo to the right for more information or register by emailing [email protected] .

Visit our Green Living Workshops page to see the full list of virtual workshops.
At Long Last, The Tool Library Is Open!
After many years of work, the South King Tool Library is finally open! Due to the Governor's mandates, tool checkout must be reserved ahead of time, and picked up at the curb.

Sign up for membership and browse the tool inventory website (donations are optional). There are lots of tools that aren't in the system yet, so contact 253-237-2290 or [email protected] if you can't find what you are looking for.
New Garbage, Recycling & Yard+Food Carts Coming Soon
As part of the new garbage and recycling contract with Waste Management, residents will be getting all new containers with new colors:
• GARBAGE carts will be GREY
• YARD & FOOD carts will be GREEN
• RECYCLING carts will remain BLUE

In July and August, separate crews will swap all existing carts with new carts. During these two months only, please set out all existing carts on your regular service day/service week. Cart swaps occur after carts are emptied, so leave carts at the curb until 6 PM. Crews swap carts by color, so carts may be swapped on different service days. To streamline operations, service days will change for some customers. Detailed instructions will be mailed to those customers in August. Old carts will be reused elsewhere, or be recycled into new carts. Information packets will be mailed in August with more details about the new contract.
New Transfer Station Stickers Available
Proof of residency must still be shown to drop off garbage or recycling at the Algona Transfer Station or Bow Lake Transfer Station. King County is now giving out stickers/decals so future visits will be faster as the scale operators can easily identify people from the King County area.

Per King County Code, waste generated outside the service area is not accepted at King County facilities. King County’s stations were overwhelmed by an influx of customers when other jurisdictions closed or limited disposal services during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. This influx of out of service area customers led to long lines, safety issues and service disruptions.
Volunteers Needed For King County Heat Mapping Project
King County and the City of Seattle are seeking volunteers to help collect real-time data about the hottest places in our region during an upcoming heat wave this summer. Data collected by volunteers during the joint one-day heat mapping campaign will be used to develop a detailed temperature map of the City of Seattle and King County.

Volunteers collect data from the comfort of their own cars, which makes this a great socially-distanced citizen science opportunity and a chance to get involved in research happening in our own community.

A sign-up form is available here , or email [email protected] for more information.
Shredding Events Return On August 12
Free Shredding Event
Wednesday, August 12th
10 AM - 2 PM
Police Department
33325 8th Ave S, Federal Way

Attend a free community shredding event to recycle your confidential documents in a secure and environmentally-friendly manner. Social distancing protocols are in place, so please place documents for shredding in the trunk/back of your vehicle for the workers to retrieve without contact. Your container(s) will be returned to you.

Schedule is subject to change, so please visit Free Community Shredding Events for updated info.
A Message From The Mayor On Plastic Pollution
Watch this short video from Mayor Ferrell, addressed to students at Sherwood Forest Elementary School, about what the City is doing to help keep plastic out of our waterways.

From Our Friends At King County
We stand with our community in the fight to end systemic racism. Striving for racial justice is one of our core values at King County. We must renew, and tirelessly work to fulfill, our commitment to creating a safe, diverse, welcoming community where every person can thrive. The system that allowed the tragic killing of George Floyd, and many Black and Brown people before him, must be dismantled. We at the King County Solid Waste Division are listening and learning, and we urge you to join us. There is no environmental justice without racial justice and it takes all of us to create real, lasting change.
~King County Solid Waste Division