What is the City of Seattles current recycling legislation?
City of Seattle Ordinance #121372, effective January 1, 2005, prohibits residential and commercial customers from disposing of certain recyclable materials as garbage. Businesses are banned from putting significant amounts of paper, cardboard, or yard waste in the trash, and residential customers may no longer put significant amounts of paper, cardboard, glass, plastic bottles, and aluminum or tin cans in the garbage. The ordinance defines a “significant amount” as more than 10% recyclable materials by volume when visually inspected by a Seattle Public Utilities inspector, contractor, or transfer station worker. Violaters are allowed two warnings before $50 citations are issued for each infraction.
