Snohomish County, WA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SCC 7.42.040(2)
- Weekly tiers
- Mini-can, one-can, two-can, three-can
- Monthly tiers
- Mini-can and one-can only
- Recycling frequency
- Weekly (single-family), biweekly (multi-family)
- Rate approval
- Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
Summary
SCC 7.42.040(2) sets the garbage pickup menu haulers must offer in the county's recycling service zone: weekly mini-can through three-can service, monthly mini-can and one-can options, and recycling-only pickup, always sold with recycling attached.
(c) Solid waste collection companies shall offer and provide single-family dwellings, at a minimum, the collection services listed below. All single-family residential garbage collection services offered within the recycling service zone shall include recycling collection. (i) Weekly mini-can, one-can, two-can, and three-can, or comparable garbage collection service. (ii) Monthly mini-can and one-can collection, or comparable service. (iii) Recycling only service.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through legislation passed August 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
040(2)(c) requires solid waste collection companies to offer single-family dwellings, at minimum, three service tiers: weekly mini-can, one-can, two-can, and three-can (or comparable) garbage collection; monthly mini-can and one-can (or comparable) collection; and recycling-only service for households that don't want garbage pickup at all. Every garbage tier sold within the recycling service zone must include recycling collection, since subsection (a) bars offering garbage-only service there and ties combined rates to Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approval. Recycling itself must run weekly for single-family accounts, preferably the same day as garbage, unless the hauler shows the county an alternative schedule achieves equal or better participation, under subsection (b).
Multi-family recycling runs at least every two weeks under the same standard. 030; outside that zone, service levels are negotiated between the hauler and the county rather than mandated. 080(3). 060.
Violations & Fines
Because SCC 7.42.040 regulates the franchised hauler rather than the resident, individual households face no fine for their pickup tier choice. A collection company that fails to offer the required weekly, monthly, or recycling-only tiers, or that sells garbage-only service inside the recycling zone, is answerable to the solid waste management division and the WUTC, which can adjust or revoke rate authority and G-permit terms. A resident who dumps garbage outside the licensed collection system instead of subscribing remains subject to the unlawful-disposal penalties in SCC 7.35.120, ranging from a class 3 civil infraction to a gross misdemeanor depending on volume.
Frequently Asked Questions
What garbage pickup options are haulers required to offer?
Can I get garbage service without recycling in unincorporated Snohomish County?
Who sets my garbage collection rates?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Snohomish County
Compare Snohomish County to another location·View the Washington trash & recycling overview
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