Federal Way, WA Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

FWRC 11.20.070 targets container placement specifically in business areas, where a location often forces the container onto a sidewalk or alley for the hauler to reach it. Any person accumulating solid waste or source-separated material at a business location that requires placing a container or extra unit on a sidewalk or alley for collection cannot place it there until the close of business on the day before the scheduled collection. The section then requires prompt removal on the other end: the container must come off the sidewalk or alley immediately after the business opens, or immediately after collection occurs, whichever happens later.

That two-sided window keeps sidewalks and alleys clear for pedestrian and vehicle use outside the narrow pre-collection period. This business-area rule sits alongside, but is distinct from, the residential screening and curbside-timing rule in FWRC 11.20.040, which instead requires household containers to be stored behind the front building line except on pickup day. For larger commercial and multifamily developments, FWRC 19.125.150 layers on physical siting standards for the storage enclosure itself, including gate widths of at least 12 feet for a single drop box or compactor and 18 feet of unobstructed access where two or more detachable containers sit side by side, plus access route widths of at least 11.5 feet for service vehicles.