Issaquah, WA Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum frequency
- At least once weekly from occupied residential premises
- Who sets schedule and routes
- The City, under IMC 8.04.120
- Collector
- Person under contract with the City
- Contractor insurance
- Not less than $1,000,000 for all damages
- Recycling items
- Exempt from weekly rule; store enclosed
- Penalty class
- Misdemeanor under IMC 8.04.130
Summary
IMC 8.04.040 requires garbage to be removed at least once weekly from occupied premises in the residential sections of Issaquah and from other occupied premises as chapter 8.04 requires. Residents are entitled to use the City's contracted collector on the schedule and routes the City determines and approves.
All garbage shall be removed at least once weekly from all occupied premises in the residential sections and from all other occupied premises as required by this chapter. Storage of such garbage prior to removal shall comply with this chapter.
Full Breakdown
IMC 8.04.040 sets the floor on frequency: all garbage shall be removed at least once weekly from all occupied premises in the residential sections and from all other occupied premises as required by chapter 8.04. Storage of garbage before removal must comply with the chapter, which means approved cans or dumpsters under IMC 8.04.020(A), placement at the distance the collector designates under 8.04.020(B), and a path with 10 feet of unrestricted overhead clearance under 8.04.020(D).
The code does not print a collection day. IMC 8.04.120 leaves that to the City: all persons residing in the City are entitled to utilize the services of a garbage collector under contract with the City, or services of the City if it elects to be the collector, using such schedule and routes as shall be determined and approved by the City. As printed, chapter 8.04 frames service as an entitlement and does not state a subscription mandate.
The collector is defined in IMC 8.04.010(A) as the person entering into contract with the City for removal of garbage. The contract machinery is in the same chapter. Under IMC 8.04.080 the City Council can authorize the Director of Public Works to advertise for bids, or authorize negotiations, for a contract covering the right to collect, remove and dispose of garbage. IMC 8.04.090 requires the contractor to furnish a surety bond for each year of the contract and maintain public liability insurance naming the City as an additional insured, with limits of not less than $1,000,000 for all damages and at least 30 days' prior written notice before cancellation.
IMC 8.04.100 requires an approved disposal site maintained in a sanitary manner, and IMC 8.04.110 lets the contractor use subcontractors only if the Director approves, without reducing the contractor's responsibility to the City. Disposal methods must be approved by the County Department of Health under IMC 8.04.070.
Items intended for recycling are outside the weekly removal rule: IMC 8.04.040 says the section does not apply to them and that items held for recycling must be stored in enclosed areas or containers.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 8.04 treats only violations of IMC 8.04.020(A) and (C) as civil infractions. Under IMC 8.04.130 all other violations of the chapter, including the weekly removal and storage requirement in 8.04.040, are misdemeanors punished under chapter 1.06 IMC: a fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or both, with each day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often must garbage be collected in Issaquah?
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Does the weekly rule cover recycling?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Issaquah
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