Bellevue, WA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Designated recyclables
- 8 categories, BCC 9.26.030(A)
- County authority
- King County rules do not apply
- Yard waste in recycling bin
- prohibited, will not be collected
- Governing plan
- city comprehensive solid waste plan
Summary
Bellevue designates eight materials, including newspaper, mixed paper, aluminum, glass, PET bottles, and yard waste, as recyclable under BCC 9.26.030, runs its own solid waste system separate from King County, and bars mixing yard waste into trash or recycling bins.
A. Pursuant to RCW 70.95.030, the city designates the following materials as recyclable materials: 1. Newspaper; 2. Mixed paper; 3. Aluminum containers; 4. Glass containers; 5. Bi-metal containers; 6. PET plastic bottles; 7. Yard waste; 8. Scrap nonferrous metals.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 6929, passed July 14, 2026).
Full Breakdown
030, designates newspaper, mixed paper, aluminum containers, glass containers, bi-metal containers, PET plastic bottles, yard waste, and scrap nonferrous metals as recyclable materials in the city. 030(B) lets the city administratively add other materials as markets develop, or remove listed items if market conditions change, without a full ordinance amendment. 040. 050(B) prohibits depositing yard waste (sod, grass, weeds, flowers, leaves, and branches under four inches in diameter or five feet long) into solid waste or recycling containers, and city-contracted haulers will not collect mixed loads at all; yard waste is only picked up separately, in approved containers, by residents enrolled in the city's yard waste collection program.
Violations & Fines
BCC 9.26.050 does not set its own penalty; the practical consequence of mixing yard waste into a trash or recycling container is that city-contracted haulers will refuse to collect it, per BCC 9.26.050(B). The city manager is authorized under BCC 9.26.050(C) to adjust hauler contracts and collection rates to enforce the separation requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What materials does Bellevue require to be recycled?
Does King County set Bellevue's recycling rules?
Can I put yard waste in my recycling bin in Bellevue?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bellevue
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Recycling Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle recycling rules.